Sounds Profitable

Today in the business of podcasting...
Sounds Profitable's Bryan Barletta reflects on the company's two-day Business of Podcasting space at Advertising Week Europe, where nearly 450 attendees gathered across 16 panels, arguing that podcasting has earned its place in mainstream media conversations and must now show up in the rooms where broader advertising decisions are made.
Sport Social Podcast Network's Jim Salveson makes the case for sports podcasting as a commercial and editorial extension of live broadcasting, citing Edison Research data showing that sports podcast listeners are significantly more likely than general sports fans to follow an athlete after a trade.
YouTube has announced several new TV-focused features, including Stations, a 24/7 programming channel format debuting with Coachella coverage, a voice-controlled AI chatbot called Ask coming to smart TVs, and TV Companion, a phone-based tool that lets viewers interact with content without taking their eyes off the screen.
Independent Australian podcast What I Survived, from Queensland-based Mashed Pumpkin Productions, reached #31 on the U.S. Apple Podcasts overall chart and #1 in Documentary within its first 47 days, with host Jack Laurence crediting an Apple Podcasts editorial homepage feature for driving over 440,000 downloads.
OpenAI has acquired Silicon Valley tech podcast TBPN in a deal the Financial Times values in the low hundreds of millions of dollars, making the show ad-free while including an editorial independence covenant, with commentators debating whether the real asset was the podcast itself or the talent behind it.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Today in the business of podcasting...

Sounds Profitable's Bryan Barletta reports that the Business of Podcasting programming track at Advertising Week Europe drew nearly 450 unique attendees across 16 panels, a signal that mainstream advertisers are actively seeking out podcasting expertise on their own. Barletta argues that podcasting's reach, with 55% of Americans listening monthly per Sounds Profitable's Podcast Landscape 2025 report, now warrants a commensurate presence in the rooms where major advertising decisions are made.
American Public Media and Streamguys have partnered to launch the Inform Media Network, a new digital audio advertising marketplace connecting 30 or more public media and prestige audio publishers with national advertisers. The network aggregates more than 55 million monthly impressions and more than six million unique listeners across podcast and livestream inventory.
Spotify has rolled out new video control settings as of April 9, 2026, giving Family Plan managers the ability to toggle video content on or off for any plan member and allowing all subscribers to disable music videos, Canvas looping visuals, and other video formats directly within the app.
Patreon's podcast category generated $629 million in revenue in 2025, a 33% year-over-year increase, driven by more than 47,000 podcaster accounts and 7.6 million paid memberships. Top creators like Joe Budden reportedly average $1 million in monthly income through the platform from the Joe Budden Network's 70,000 or more subscribers.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.
Updated todo

With podcasting having arrived at the mainstream, it’s time for the industry to be in the rooms where decisions are made.
Podcasting has reached mainstream status, with 55% of Americans consuming a podcast monthly, and industry leaders are now expanding their presence beyond podcast-specific events into major global advertising and marketing conferences. Sounds Profitable is driving this growth by placing podcasting content at high-profile venues like SXSW, Advertising Week Europe, and Cannes Lions to attract brand strategists, media buyers, and agency decision-makers. A key opportunity remains the roughly 25% of American adults who have never tried podcasting, representing a significant untapped audience for podcast content creators and advertisers.
Written by Tom Webster
Edited and narrated by Gavin Gaddis
Text and audio edited by Gavin Gaddis

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Find the full article here on Sounds Profitable.

Today in the business of podcasting:
Soros Fund Management is leading an investment round in MeidasTouch Network, the progressive media company behind The MeidasTouch Podcast. The move follows prior Soros investments in podcast-related companies including Audacy and Crooked Media.
Marketing agency Right Side Up has published a newsletter revisiting its generative engine optimization (GEO) framework, outlining how brands can improve their visibility in AI-generated answers from tools like ChatGPT and Google. The framework emphasizes content structure, technical foundations, and third-party brand mentions across the web.
Independent Australian podcast network Mashed Pumpkin Productions saw its show What I Survived reach number 31 on the overall U.S. Apple Podcasts chart, number one in Documentary Podcasts, and number four in Society and Culture within 47 days of launch. Host Jack Laurence credits an Apple Podcasts editorial feature on the platform's U.S. homepage for driving over 440,000 cumulative downloads.
An anonymous podcast producer who worked on multiple hit narrative shows during the podcast boom recounts being laid off from two major companies as narrative podcast opportunities contracted around 2023. Published in The Hollywood Reporter, the piece examines the high cost of narrative podcast production and the industry's shift toward celebrity and influencer-hosted formats.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.

Today in the business of podcasting:
YouTube is rolling out new TV features including Stations (a FAST-style 24/7 channel hub), TV Companion (phone-to-TV interactivity), and voice-enabled Ask chatbot support on smart TVs.
Despite sports podcasting's success in the U.S., sports podcasts barely register in Latin America's Spotify charts, but Genuina Media's David R. González sees the 2026 FIFA World Cup as a major growth opportunity for LatAm sports podcasters and advertisers.
Spotify has launched a beta Prompted Playlist feature for podcasts, letting Premium users in seven markets use generative AI to build and auto-update personalized podcast playlists.
Podcast strategist Steve Raizes shares how two structural changes, cold opens and episode callbacks, helped a struggling show achieve a 264% increase in cumulative downloads and views.
Audacy is cutting jobs across its broadcast radio division and consolidating around a regional leadership structure, with the podcasting side of the business appearing unaffected.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.