More listeners than ever to podcasts in US

• There are more listeners than ever to podcasts in the US, according to new data. The Triton Digital 2024 US Podcast Report also suggests that YouTube continues to be the most “preferred” platform for 33.1% of all podcast listeners, while Apple Podcasts has slumped to a new low: preferred by just 12.2%. The data, which is a free download, also contains more detail about the US Podcast Ranker.

• Video podcasts are “not equally sensible and beneficial for all podcasts“. A group of German podcast marketers and publishers have worked together to produce a white paper explaining the benefits of audio-only podcasts. Advantages include better distribution, and monetisation, and audio podcasts have a 150% higher listen-through rate than video podcasts.

• There have been a number of layoffs at SiriusXM, impacting the podcast teams and Earwolf. Podnews understands that 100 roles were impacted, representing 2% of the workforce, along with a number of changes to the company’s structure. The CEO Jennifer Witz called it a “profoundly challenging day”. One of those included is Amelia Chappelow, who was Executive Producer at Earwolf.

• Commuters listening to your podcasts are valuable, according to new research from Acast. Podcast listeners who listen to and from work are 22% more focused, 10% more likely to engage with ads, and 15% more likely to consider podcast time an essential part of their day. (Nearly half of weekly podcast listeners tune in while commuting).

• As the US looks north, and the country searches for a new Prime Minister, Pod the North has seven podcast recommendations for Canadian listeners to help keep them informed and connected.

• Noiser has a “flashy new website”, CEO Pascal Hughes tells us. We like the crisp monochrome logos for each podcast, which are then built into the artwork and accompanying information for each.

• PodToo has added the Podcast Index “live item tag”, allowing live podcasting, and has introduced a way for its radio clients to achieve greater control over release dates and times for its podcasts.

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People News

• Audioboom has hired Liv Suco as Senior Account Director. The company has also confirmed Hat Trick Productions will join the Audioboom Creator Network.

Tips and tricks - with Pod Predictor by Coleman Insights

• Had a guest on your podcast? There’s nothing nicer than mailing them a handwritten note of thanks; and it works even better if it’s written in a branded card with a sticker, too. We got this, after an appearance on Courtney Elmer’s Insider Secrets to a Top 100 Podcast, produced by PodLaunch.

Podcast News - with Airwave History +

Part of Airwave History + The Age of Napoleon Podcast - a history podcast about the life and career of Napoleon Bonaparte as well as the general context of Europe between the early eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Subscribe on Apple Podcasts to enjoy ad-free listening.

On the latest episode of NPR’s How to Do Everything podcast, hosts Ian Chillag and Mike Danforth asked listeners to email if they yawned after a segment on the contagiousness of yawning. Surprisingly, they got responses from all over the world: from Charlotte, NC to Buenos Aires, Argentina to Auckland, New Zealand.

Shift-key-challenged THE JAMIE O & MASON HO SHOW has signed a multi-year advertising agreement with Libsyn Ads. The show is hosted by legendary surfers Jamie O’Brien and Mason Ho, and offers a mix of interviews with top surfers, musicians, comedians, YouTubers, and extreme sports athletes.

How did gambling make its way from an illegal backroom operation to a state-run, multibillion dollar industry? Scratch & Win from GBH News covers the rise of America’s most successful state lottery - and whether the state should be in that business at all. It’s hosted and produced by Ian Coss, who also joins the GBH team.

College holds a mythic place in American culture, with its manicured quads, bustling lecture halls, and football rivalries. It’s often hailed as the best four years of your life and revered as a beacon of integrity and excellence. But, beyond the scripted campus tours and glossy brochures, lies a far more complicated reality. Campus Files is new from Audacy today, an original weekly podcast series exploring college scandals – from the most famous to the little known, both historical and contemporary.

How did the transatlantic folk duo Sons of Town Hall get started? In Madmen Cross The Water, we learn of the outlandish adventures behind each track on the duo’s forthcoming album, with a podcast from, um, the 1900s. It’s like Dolly Parton’s America shared a tour bus with Welcome to Nightvale and Iron & Wine. The first episode is out now.