PodX Group acquires podcast producer Listen

• Listen, a major podcast producer based in London, has been acquired by PodX Group. No terms were given; the deal is described as a “milestone” acquisition for PodX, and is the largest deal in the UK podcast industry since Sony bought production company Somethin’ Else in 2021.

  • It’s the latest acquisition from the PodX Group, who now own companies in Scandinavia, Argentina, France and the UK. To learn more about PodX Group, read this interview with CEO Staffan Rosell in the Podcast Business Journal.

• She Podcasts LIVE! has cancelled its planned physical event in mid-June in Washington DC. It’s the second time the event has been cancelled. There will be a virtual event instead, and tickets are now valid for an in-person event at Podfest in Orlando next January. Refunds are not being given, however. You can read emails sent by the organisers to ticket-holders here.

  • News of the cancellation came two days before the postponement of the International Women’s Podcast Festival.

• The Independent Podcast Awards has been announced in the UK. You can enter now; the awards will be held in London on Oct 12.

• Who is the number one French-language podcast in Canada? We can’t mention it in our newsletter for fear of annoying corporate email systems; but it’s a runaway success story with more than half a million monthly downloads, says TPX.

• A new edition of the pan-African Podcast Sessions Magazine is now available for download. Rodney Omeokachie, founder of 'the Young God’ podcast, is on the cover

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• Audible announced a multi-project exclusive deal with Ashé Audio Ventures, a newly-formed podcast label from actor Viola Davis

• The radio.com domain appears to have been withdrawn from auction. It still forwards to its owner, Audacy; it went on sale in January with a starting price of $2.5mn.

• Blubrry has added badges for its podcast creators, which can be earned in a number of ways … Transistor has added dynamic ad campaign scheduling.

Thank you to CoHost, who offer powerful podcast hosting for agencies and brands, who return as a gold supporter. The reason Podnews is free is because of support from companies like CoHost: you can support us too.

Moves and hires

• Gabriel Galaza is looking for full time or freelance opportunities within the podcast and YouTube marketing space. He writes: “I have 9 years of experience with video audience development and recently moved into podcast marketing. Most recently, I worked at SiriusXM marketing numerous Stitcher podcasts to increase audiences and downloads (The Fckry with Leslie Jones, How Did This Get Made? to name a few).”

Tips and tricks - with Podnews Live - where podcasting connects

• The Press Gazette compiled a set of tips and tricks from The Podcast Show 2023.

Podcast News

In Australia, a Campos Coffee logo is a good sign for any café; and All Things Coffee is a new podcast from the 21 year-old company with conversations about coffee with those who are most deeply steeped in the industry. It’s said to be for anyone who is getting into the industry, whether as a barista, a coffee-drinker or even someone planning on opening their own cafe.

Why are the bikes missing from Keyshawn’s neighborhood, and what does it mean for the Juneteenth bike parade? Keyshawn Solves It is a new show from GBH Kids, PBS Kids and PRX, set in the week leading up to Juneteenth so that the listeners can gain a deeper understanding of this historical day in African American history.

Featuring Broadway actor Kathryn Allison, Karen 1% is a prestige musical sci-fi drama set in 2040s New York. Karen is a scientific agent whose projects include living AI, secret space flights and quantum computing; she unravels the conspiracy that links her cases and discover secrets that could change what it means to be human. The show is written by Bassey Etim.

Rebound Revolution is new from editaudio and The Qube - a new weekly podcast exploring timely on and off-court intersections of the WNBA, hosted by lifelong WNBA fan and podcaster Dr. Money McEachern. The show will explore a range of topics within the world of women’s basketball, from pay equity and sponsorships to queerness, social justice and league history.

On average, one woman a week is murdered by her current or former partner in Australia. Behind the Doors of Domestic Violence is a new series from the Queensland Police Service to help put domestic and family violence under the spotlight. The podcast is produced by Podshape.