US podcasting ad revenues up 53% to $479m; Apple Podcasts adds full-text transcript search and device sync

• Podcasting made $479 million in US ad revenue in 2018, according to the IAB and PwC. This is an increase of 53% year-on-year. It’s estimated that the industry will be making over $1bn in 2021. Dynamically-inserted advertising is responsible for nearly half of all revenue.

  
  Aug 13 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.
  • This figure includes branded content, but doesn’t include Patreon-like revenue from supporters, revenue from live shows, or personal branding. For comparison, BIA Kelsey estimate US terrestrial commercial radio to have earned $14.2bn in 2018; SiriusXM satellite radio earnt a further $5.8bn.
  
  Aug 13 2023: This broken link now points to the Internet Archive.

• As predicted, Apple will create a brand new Apple Podcasts app for macOS, which will come in v10.15 of the operating system, called Catalina. However, iTunes will continue as you know it on Windows machines. The new app, as we can see from a screenshot here, also clearly displays chapter points.

  • Apple also announced that podcast progress will be synched between devices, and the availability of full-text transcript search. (Google already offers both these features). Craig Federighi, SVP Software Engineering, announced it in the main keynote (about 1h45 in):

    Let’s turn our attention to [the Apple] Podcasts [Mac app]. It brings a dedicated podcast listening experience to the Mac. And it features all the great features you used to in iOS, like Listen Now: we can see new episodes and keep track of your listening across all of your devices, and it has a great new feature and it has to do with search. You know, sometimes you hear about something on the radio, maybe something on the news, and you think “I want to hear more about that”, but you’re not sure what show it was on, or even that it appeared in the title. Well now we use machine learning to index the contents of the spoken content of a podcast. So now you can search that content and find the podcast with just a few clicks in the app. It’s great!

• Also from Apple’s WWDC - in the next version of iOS on the iPhone and iPod Touch, Apple Podcasts will be on the front screen, “right next to one of the most used apps in the world — the App Store”, notes Vox Media’s Zach Kahn in a tweet. He says this will help first-time listeners discover podcasts.

• Apple’s WWDC also announced that watchOS, the operating system on the Apple Watch, will be capable of operating without an attached phone and also will have a new streaming API. Daniel J Lewis notes that this could be great for podcast consumption with only an Apple Watch.

• As we reported yesterday, Tim Ferris has made a decision to ditch the ads and just take donations for his podcast. Is this a wise move? Amira Valliani does the maths.

• ITV, the UK commercial television company, has signed a two-year agreement for its podcasts to be placed in the Global Player, a radio and podcast app from the UK commercial radio company. ITV have also signed with Global’s DAX advertising platform.

• TargetSpot has inked a deal with Signal. “The integration with the Signal Identity Platform enables Targetspot to precisely target the right listener at the right moment on the right device.”

• “Golden age of podcasting” cliché news, as B&T publishes an opinion piece from Acast’s AU/NZ boss Henrik Isaksson predicts the next chapter in the Australian podcast market.

• WARC interviews Edison Research’s Tom Webster on podcasting’s route to mass media.

• Event: Podes, a podcast festival in Lisbon, Portugal, on 9 November.

Podcasts

Letters of Love in WW2 is a true story from the second world war, brought to life to mark the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings this week. Three months after they wed, Cyril and Olga found themselves separated by the war - the first six years of married life lived via hand-written correspondence. Written by Anna Priestland, it launches on Friday. (HISTORY / Acast)

The History of Standup returns for a new season today. The History of Standup has a simple mission, to tell the story of standup comedy in America, and to have fun doing it. (Podglomerate / Megaphone)

The NAB Podcast from the US National Association of Broadcasters this week has a special guest - our Editor. A 22 minute romp round the world in terms of podcasting.