Cloudy outlook: iOS 17’s effective ads but lower downloads

• The iOS 17 changes to Apple Podcasts have meant podcast ads are more effective, new data from Podscribe has revealed. As part of Podscribe’s performance benchmarks, we learn that ads have driven a higher amount of visitors and conversions since Apple Podcasts changed how auto-downloads work.

  • For “impression buys”, Podscribe tells Podnews that visitor-based ads have increased in effectiveness by 30%. Amelia Coomber takes us through more of the numbers in this week’s Podnews Weekly Review.

• But what were the changes in iOS 17? What other effects have they had? And how did Apple Podcasts communicate them with us? In a special report today we learn how they were rolled out, and why some people are disappointed that Apple didn’t act sooner and communicate better.

• Triton Digital released its January 2024 Podcast Ranker. NPR has the #1 podcast; SiriusXM is the #1 sales network. However, as we highlight in our report about iOS 17, Triton Digital’s ranker shows a year-on-year drop for average weekly podcast downloads of almost 33%.

• Podtrac has launched a global ranking - the first to include YouTube views. The first ranker for January 2024 says that Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast is #1 for “streams, downloads and views”, with the DailyWire+ at #2. However, DailyWire+ shows do 32x better on average than AdvertiseCast’s.

• Quill and Carney released their 2024 Marketing & Podcast Trends Report. The in-depth report contains data, advice and case studies for a number of marketing tools - it’s a good read, and it’s free.

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• Futuri has integrated its SpotOn AI-powered advertising generator tool into sales platform TopLine.

• At 9.15am ET today, we’ll get to find out the nominations for The Ambies.

Tips and tricks - with Podpage

• How to get booked as a podcast guest (Podwritten)

• Have your podcast featured on Amazon Music (Blubrry)

• How to use music in your podcast (RedCircle)

• What is Podcasting 2.0? It’s cool if you don’t know quite what it all is - this website aims to help. Feedback (and contributions) are welcome. And here’s a video in Spanish to help, too (assuming you speak Spanish, otherwise we guess it’s not that helpful after all).

Podcast News

Now Hear This Entertainment is ten years old this weekend, and has published more than 500 episodes. A new episode of the show has been delivered on-time, every week, without missing once in ten years, says host Bruce Wawrzyniak. He’s speaking at Evolutions by Podcast Movement next month.

The Podnews Weekly Review this week is just James - Sam Sethi is probably sheltering from the tropical rain showers in the Australian summer. James is joined by David Locke from the Locked On Podcast Network, who have an interesting strategy to get closer to their audience; and by Amelia Coomber from Podscribe to discuss their effectiveness research.

Real News is a brand new podcast - but despite the name, it’s a daily AI-generated podcast, using the cloned voices of popular Aussie podcasters Meshel Laurie and Simon Baggs. The show is produced by Bravecasting, working “with AI developers in Europe”.

The Amendment is new this week from The 19th News and Wonder Media Network. Hosted by award-winning journalist and The 19th’s Editor-at-Large Errin Haines, The Amendment gives a voice to the new electorate, most specifically marginalized people who depend on a functioning democracy.

A new season of true crime podcast Up and Vanished, “In The Midnight Sun”, launches today. Hosted by Payne Lindsey and produced by Tenderfoot TV in partnership with Audacy, the new season investigates what happened to Alaska Native, Florence Okpealuk, who vanished from the subarctic town of Nome in 2020 - and the grim reality of the high rate of missing and murdered Indigenous people in the United States.

New Podcast Trailers is our podcast that features trailers from new shows that we mention in the pages of Podnews. It’s a great place for you to find your next favourite podcast.

Podcast promotion in the wild

Spotify continues to spend big on promoting podcasts, and that can only benefit the whole industry. Podnews reader Aakshi gives us our first “podcast promotion in the wild” from India - some clever copy about sharing things and mentions of armrests from Spotify in Delhi Airport last December. Meanwhile, Podnews reader Katrina took this arresting picture of Real Survival Stories in London’s Leicester Square. The show - and Katrina - is from production company Noiser.

Spot some marketing for podcasts in the real world? Hit reply and send us a (landscape) photograph.