show.fm 🎧

show.fm 🎧

@show.fm

show.fm - enabling podcasters to focus on creating great content by automating everything else. Guest booking, show notes generation, social media posting, team collaboration, hosting, and much more.

50 followers254 following495 posts

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Do you write show notes for your podcasts? Both the ones that you publish on your website, but also the ones that you share with your guests so that everyone is prepared when the time for the interview starts. It can be dull work, but 'good' guests want well prepared hosts. How do you manage this?

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

show.fm is built to save you time on your podcast. It’s the operating system for your podcast. Finding and booking guests, show prep, publishing, hosting. It’s all in one place. You create art, show.fm will take care of the boring bits!

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

If we had to sum up show.fm in a few words, this is what we’d say… “show.fm saves you time podcasting. We’ve created a suite of tools so that you can concentrate upon the artistry of making a podcast, and jettison the tedious tasks you do over and over again right now”.

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Why you need, and how to create, good podcast show notes It is no surprise that writing show notes consistently ranks among the most dreaded tasks in the entire podcasting workflow, but it does not have to be this way. Your show notes can really help grow your podast.

show.fmWhy you need, and how to create, good podcast show notesIt is no surprise that writing show notes consistently ranks among the most dreaded tasks in the entire podcasting workflow, but it does not have to be this way. Your show notes can really help grow your podast.
show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

29 – Why show notes matter (and how to stop the dread when writing them) This episode explored the universal dread of writing podcast show notes and revealed why skipping them sabotages growth. One concept discussed was that search engines can’t actually “hear” your wisdom, but they can read a co

show.fm29 – Why show notes matter (and how to stop the dread when writing them)This episode explored the universal dread of writing podcast show notes and revealed why skipping them sabotages growth. One concept discussed was that search engines can’t actually “hear” your wisdom, but they can read a concise, structured summary. I mention a three-part framework, elevator pitch, scannable takeaways, and resource links, to streamline the process. Automation tools like show.fm and its WordPress plugin were also highlighted as solutions that transform the show notes process from a Sunday-night headache into a near hands-off task.
show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

show.fm will give you your own space on the web. All your episodes, beautifully displayed so that your listeners can find you, your guests, your transcripts, links and more.

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

With show.fm you can share your podcast analytics with possible sponsors. Create a report, set and expiry date. Done. Now your sponsors have the complete picture.

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Find guests for your podcast easily in the show.fm Guest Network. Search and view endorsements, and then it’s 1-click to get them booked onto your podcast.

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

When someone uses your show.fm booking link to find a date on your podcast, your podcast episode is automatically created. Shows notes and guest research are all made for you.

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

show.fm combines many podcasting tools into 1 app. Save money & make your podcast more professional. That booking app you currently use. That notes app you’re paying for? Podcast hosting. It’s all under one roof with show.fm

show.fm 🎧 reposted

Dan Maby
@danmaby.com

Building on one user's workflow and turning it into a product that millions can use is both fascinating and frustrating! But I'm grateful to be on this journey.

show.fm 🎧@show.fm

Built by podcasters, for podcasters With over 1,200 produced & published episodes, @nathanwrigley.com knows what it takes to build a sustainable podcast. That journey led to show.fm Get three years of access for a never-to-be-repeated price today, before the offer ends October 31: show.fm/founders

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Built by podcasters, for podcasters With over 1,200 produced & published episodes, @nathanwrigley.com knows what it takes to build a sustainable podcast. That journey led to show.fm Get three years of access for a never-to-be-repeated price today, before the offer ends October 31: show.fm/founders

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Because #podcast guest wrangling is hard, we decided to make it much more straightforward. This screenshot (with redactions to protect the innocent!) shows the "Show Notes" area of episodes in show .fm. Guests managed via booking links, chat, real-time collaboration. Check out x.show.fm/ews1n

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Thinking of moving your podcast? 🎙️ Learn how to switch hosts, migrate your episodes and RSS feed, and keep your listeners. Listen now and make your move without the headaches. Join us tomorrow: x.show.fm/QI2ll. 11am ET / 8am PY / 5pm CEST

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Your podcast data, in your own tools (API keys) Your podcast doesn’t live in one app. You plan in one place, track your marketing in another, and report to sponsors from a spreadsheet. Until now, getting your show.fm numbers into those places meant exporting a CSV (on Studio and above) and copyin

x.show.fmYour podcast data, in your own tools (API keys)Your podcast doesn’t live in one app. You plan in one place, track your marketing in another, and report to sponsors from a spreadsheet. Until now, getting your show.fm numbers into those places meant exporting a CSV (on Studio and above) and copying it across by hand. Today that changes. On any paid plan, you ... Read more

show.fm 🎧 reposted

Nathan Wrigley
@nathanwrigley.com

Podcasting can be a lonely business, but not if your team joins you! show .fm allows you to create teams and they can participate in the episodes you create. Much better. Much more social !

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Better listener feedback starts with better questions. What keeps people listening, and what makes them tune out? Explore School of Podcasting’s take on getting feedback that helps your show.

x.show.fmThe Best (and Worst) Podcast Feedback We've Ever ReceivedA listener once told me they hoped I'd quit teaching altogether. Another told me, in the nicest way possible, that the curmudgeon was showing up a little too early these days. Only one of those helped my show. This month's Question of the Month was all about feedback: what's the most constructive feedback you've ever received, and what's the most destructive? A few listeners sent in their answers, I share mine, and to prove how much feedback matters, I dig up some embarrassing basement recordings from a much younger Dave Jackson. Let's get into it.Why Aren't You Getting Feedback? It honestly boggles my mind how many podcasters never ask for feedback and then wonder why their show isn't growing. Think of it like making someone a sandwich. You can ask, "I've got baloney, smoked turkey, or salami. Which do you want?" and make something they'll actually eat. Or you can hand everyone salami and say "tell your friends," while half of them are quietly thinking, "I hate salami."Ralph Estep Jr.: "Go Hire a Speaking Coach" Ralph, the content creator's accountant, says the best feedback he ever got was to hire a speaking coach. People (me included) told him he sounded robotic on his show, nothing like the Ralph you meet on a Zoom call or in person. He found a coach, and it changed the way he does everything. On the other side, he's had people tell him they hope he gets hit by a bus or struck by lightning over his religious views. He's not taking that advice. His point: when you get feedback, consider who it's coming from and whether it makes sense to act on it.York Campbell: The Name Was the Problem York's show used to be called Poetic Earthlings, and people kept assuming it was about poetry. It's actually short sci-fi stories: time travel, alien worlds, hyperdimensional creatures, and a few conspiracy theories. A fellow podcaster suggested Welcome to Earth Stories, and once he made the change, the attention and downloads followed. As York put it, sometimes you fall in love with a clever name because of what it means to you, and never stop to ask whether anyone else will understand it.Timothy Kimo Brien: "You Called My Baby Ugly" Tim submitted his old show, KDOI Podcasting (Kimo's Den of Iniquity), to the Podcast Rodeo Show. I said it sounded like a radio station, and the full name sounded like... something else entirely. Tim was not a happy camper. Later, sitting at a podcast conference and hearing someone talk about making your show's title clear, he asked himself what his show actually does: it's about creating art. Hello, Create Art Podcast. He's gone from roughly 200–300 downloads a month to between 1,000 and 1,500. He says it's not necessarily because of the name change. I say probably. Either way, it helped him focus on what the show is really about.My Best Feedback: The Curmudgeon Is Showing Before Podfest even started, my buddy Steve Stewart asked me to lunch and asked if I was open to notes. I grew up professionally with "constant improvement" on the walls of my first job, so of course I was. He told me the curmudgeon was coming out a little quicker than it used to. That was gold, because it was something I could control and fix. And it came from someone whose opinion I value, someone who'll tell me when something's good and when it isn't. Knowledge is only power when you act on it.My First Bad Review (and What Good Feedback Looks Like) In 2010, five years into podcasting, I got my first negative review: basically "not good, not enough thought, it's a commercial for bad services." It knocked me back on my heels, but there was nothing I could fix, because it never said why. (This is why I now say you're not a real podcaster until you get a one-star review.) Compare that to a 2017 review from a listener who wanted to hear the show but said the mix had a hiss or too much treble. That's great feedback. It's specific, and I could have adjusted it (I was using the Electro-Voice RE320 back then and liked my S's and T's crisp). The only problem is he should have sent it to me directly. A few things to keep in mind:The person might be having a bad day. After decades in customer support, I've seen people apologize later once they calmed down.Ask yourself: do they have a point? If so, can you fix it?Make it easy for feedback to reach you. A review isn't a direct line.Save the nice messages. On days you don't feel like recording, they remind you people are listening.Reviews are social proof, but they don't help you get found. Apple has said so. When Feedback Goes Wrong: The Podcast Rodeo Show In 2017 I launched the Podcast Rodeo Show, where I'd grab a random podcast and give a real first impression. (Half of YouTube is reaction videos now. I'm taking credit for inventing it. I didn't.) One episode, a host opened by sharing a string of genuinely awful personal experiences, all within the first few minutes, and never said what the show was about, who it was for, or even that it was an interview. My feedback was all logic: what's in it for the listener? As Erik K. Johnson says, nobody gets on a bus if they don't know where it's going. Don't bury the lead. People don't care about you until you give them a reason to care. She emailed and attacked me personally, said I was cruel and should never call myself a teacher. It hit me hard enough that I worried the show was hurting my brand, and it's part of why the show eventually ended. Listening back now, I could have been more compassionate. But when I asked my audience whether they wanted a kinder, gentler version, they very loudly said no. So the show evolved (a little less "listen and react," a little more "what do we want them to learn") and got rebranded, first to Podcast Hot Seat (people said that sounded painful) and now to Fix My Podcast.Scott Orr: How to Take Hard Feedback Now compare that to Scott Orr, an award-winning journalist and host of Code 3 – The Firefighters Podcast. Before one review, I reached out and said, respectfully, "Scott, you sound like you're drunk." He replied that he didn't have a drinking problem. He has Parkinson's. Instead of getting angry, Scott took the feedback and now opens every episode by saying he won't let Parkinson's stop him. When Scott later came on the Podcast Review Show, Erik K. Johnson pointed out that addressing it up front is disarming. Listeners stop wondering what's going on and focus on what Scott's saying, not how he's saying it. Honest? Yes. Awkward? Yes. Helpful? Absolutely.You Can't See Your Own Typos My favorite example: I once had a typo in the School of Podcasting's own tagline ("plan, launch, grow, and monetize") and didn't catch it. Sometimes you just don't see it.Young Dave Jackson's Basement Tapes At School of Podcasting we hold listener parties, where members listen to an episode together and give feedback in real time. Some people cringe at the idea. So here's my confession: in my twenties I was basically Ross from Friends, recording angry '80s rock in my basement. Guitar, bass, keys, drum machine, and, unfortunately, all the vocals. I'd hit play and leave the room while friends listened. Their feedback? "Who's playing the piano?" Me. "Who's on bass?" Me. Nobody said a word about the music. Just recently, my brother found that CD and told me the songs and singing weren't that bad, but the mix was horrendous. Thirty years later. A little late. Here's the scary part: you're going to be judged anyway. Wouldn't it make more sense to be judged in a way where you can capture the feedback and make changes before you publish?The Sidewalk Lesson A few years ago on the Fourth of July, I fell on an uneven sidewalk while looking at my phone and still have the scars on my knees. That was feedback too, just the painful kind. If someone had warned me about that raised block of cement ahead of time, I'd have saved myself a lot of trouble. That's what good feedback does. Give me feedback on this show: head to schoolofpodcasting.com/survey and tell me how I can make it better. I'm doing this show for you. Want help growing your show? Go to schoolofpodcasting.com and use the coupon code LISTENER for a monthly, quarterly, or yearly subscription, backed by a 30-day money-back guarantee. Next week: one thing I did in under five minutes that put me directly in front of my target audience. Follow at schoolofpodcasting.com/follow so you get it the minute it drops.Contributors & LinksRalph Estep Jr., the Content Creator's Accountant: https://ralphestepjr.comBecoming Financially Confident (live weekdays, 11:30 a.m. ET): https://becomingfinanciallyconfident.comYork Campbell, Welcome to Earth...
show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

How do you connect podcast ads to customer purchases? Explore the Fairing and Podscribe announcement with a key question in mind... what would better attribution mean for your campaigns?

x.show.fmFairing and Podscribe Partner to Bring Show-Level Attribution to PodcastsFairing, the attribution platform that turns direct customer feedback into reliable marketing attribution data, today announced a partnership with Podscribe, the IAB-certified measurement standard powering attribution and verification across 25,000 podcast shows, to help brands identify the exact shows and formats driving podcast-attributed sales. Podcast attribution has a structural constraint: pixels can only track what platforms allow them to see. IP matching still works well on traditional RSS audio, but listening habits have shifted. More Americans now watch podcasts on YouTube than on any other service, where Google shares zero IP data. The new integration connects Podscribe's campaign data directly with Fairing's post-purchase surveys. Every active Podscribe campaign automatically populates as a response option in Fairing, refreshed daily and tagged with where it ran. When a customer identifies a show as influencing their purchase, that response is sent back to Podscribe as a verified conversion, giving brands show and format-level attribution rather than broad “YouTube” or “Podcast” responses. Matt Bahr, co-founder and CEO of Fairing, said: “Podcast advertising has scaled because IP matching worked well enough for years. But as more listening moves to platforms that don't share the necessary signals, layering in customer-reported attribution has become increasingly important. By connecting Podscribe's exposure data with what customers tell us directly, we can finally attribute the shows and formats that are driving revenue.” Patrick Schmidt, VP of Partnerships at Podscribe, said: “We track every show, host-read ad and simulcast that actually ran, but understanding the full customer journey requires knowing what influenced someone to convert. Our integration with Fairing helps advertisers connect what customers say influenced their purchase on a deeper level by allowing them to identify where they were exposed to an advertiser’s message. That gives brands a more complete picture of customer behavior and a clearer understanding of which podcasts contribute to conversion.” In an early rollout with personal care brand Mando, adding auto-suggest follow-ups to capture podcast and simulcast responses reduced unassigned survey responses by 3.12% and improved blended podcast CPA by 9.2% on the same spend, helping the brand identify and renew high-performing shows it had been at risk of cutting. “We only get so far with ‘podcast’ as a response. Auto-suggest has been huge – it gives us show-level insights we just couldn't get before,” said Tom Herer, Senior Manager of Offline Performance Marketing at Mando parent company Mammoth Brands. The integration is available now to all Fairing customers on the Advanced Attribution plan and can be connected in minutes without engineering support. Once connected, Podscribe campaign rosters sync with Fairing daily, and customer-reported conversions flow back to Podscribe automatically. Customer-reported conversions can also be pushed into more than 25 measurement platforms and data warehouses, allowing the data to complement existing MTA, incrementality and MMM approaches.
show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Show notes, rebuilt with our founding members Show notes are where an episode comes together. It’s where you plan the questions, keep the links you promised to mention, and work out with your guest what you’ll cover. So when the people using show.fm every week told us the page felt busy, we liste

x.show.fmShow notes, rebuilt with our founding membersShow notes are where an episode comes together. It’s where you plan the questions, keep the links you promised to mention, and work out with your guest what you’ll cover. So when the people using show.fm every week told us the page felt busy, we listened. Today, on International Podcast Day, a calmer Show Notes ... Read more
show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Some nice updates to show .fm this week. We have more granular control over your booking / calendar links and greater visibility of your podcast transcripts in the platform. Check out the update video.

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Which podcasts help turn listeners into customers? Take a look at the Fairing and Podscribe announcement and what it could mean for measuring your podcast ads.

x.show.fmFairing and Podscribe Partner to Bring Show-Level Attribution to PodcastsFairing, the attribution platform that turns direct customer feedback into reliable marketing attribution data, today announced a partnership with Podscribe, the IAB-certified measurement standard powering attribution and verification across 25,000 podcast shows, to help brands identify the exact shows and formats driving podcast-attributed sales. Podcast attribution has a structural constraint: pixels can only track what platforms allow them to see. IP matching still works well on traditional RSS audio, but listening habits have shifted. More Americans now watch podcasts on YouTube than on any other service, where Google shares zero IP data. The new integration connects Podscribe's campaign data directly with Fairing's post-purchase surveys. Every active Podscribe campaign automatically populates as a response option in Fairing, refreshed daily and tagged with where it ran. When a customer identifies a show as influencing their purchase, that response is sent back to Podscribe as a verified conversion, giving brands show and format-level attribution rather than broad “YouTube” or “Podcast” responses. Matt Bahr, co-founder and CEO of Fairing, said: “Podcast advertising has scaled because IP matching worked well enough for years. But as more listening moves to platforms that don't share the necessary signals, layering in customer-reported attribution has become increasingly important. By connecting Podscribe's exposure data with what customers tell us directly, we can finally attribute the shows and formats that are driving revenue.” Patrick Schmidt, VP of Partnerships at Podscribe, said: “We track every show, host-read ad and simulcast that actually ran, but understanding the full customer journey requires knowing what influenced someone to convert. Our integration with Fairing helps advertisers connect what customers say influenced their purchase on a deeper level by allowing them to identify where they were exposed to an advertiser’s message. That gives brands a more complete picture of customer behavior and a clearer understanding of which podcasts contribute to conversion.” In an early rollout with personal care brand Mando, adding auto-suggest follow-ups to capture podcast and simulcast responses reduced unassigned survey responses by 3.12% and improved blended podcast CPA by 9.2% on the same spend, helping the brand identify and renew high-performing shows it had been at risk of cutting. “We only get so far with ‘podcast’ as a response. Auto-suggest has been huge – it gives us show-level insights we just couldn't get before,” said Tom Herer, Senior Manager of Offline Performance Marketing at Mando parent company Mammoth Brands. The integration is available now to all Fairing customers on the Advanced Attribution plan and can be connected in minutes without engineering support. Once connected, Podscribe campaign rosters sync with Fairing daily, and customer-reported conversions flow back to Podscribe automatically. Customer-reported conversions can also be pushed into more than 25 measurement platforms and data warehouses, allowing the data to complement existing MTA, incrementality and MMM approaches.
show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

What does podcasting look like in 2026? Explore The Podcast Study 2026 and consider what its findings could mean for your show.

x.show.fmThe Podcast Study 2026: Host Relationship Emerges as Key Driver of Loyalty, Discovery, and Ad EffectivenessPoint-To-Point Marketing and Strategic Solutions Research have completed the first webinar in their series revealing findings from The Podcast Study 2026, with new data showing the significant role podcast hosts play in audience loyalty, discovery, and advertising effectiveness. The webinar, The Importance of the Host and the Power of Trust, was presented by Tim Bronsil, CEO of Point-To-Point Marketing, and Hal Rood, Partner at Strategic Solutions Research. The Podcast Study 2026 surveyed 1,205 U.S. podcast consumers, with the sample balanced according to the most recent U.S. Census. The study is sponsored by Crooked Media, NPR, and PRX. One of the clearest findings from the webinar was the importance of the relationship between listeners and the people hosting their favorite podcasts. Among respondents with a favorite podcast, eighty-two percent said the host is either a big part of, or the only reason for, their listening. That relationship also creates significant audience retention implications. Fifty-six percent said they would either definitely stop listening or seriously consider stopping if the host of their favorite podcast permanently left. At the same time, seventy-eight percent said they would continue listening often or sometimes if the host was simply away on vacation, suggesting that a strong host can build equity for the larger podcast brand. “The host kept showing up throughout the research,” said Bronsil. “It wasn’t just about why someone likes a show. The host impacts whether someone discovers the podcast, whether they stay with it, and how they respond to the advertising. For podcast companies, the host should be viewed as an audience development asset as well as a content asset.” The study also found a measurable advertising advantage for host endorsements. Fifty-seven percent said they are more likely to remember a brand after hearing it endorsed by a podcast host, while fifty-five percent said they are more likely to notice advertising from that brand again. When listeners were asked specifically about the ability of an ad to influence trial or purchase, forty percent said they were highly likely or likely to try or buy after hearing the host personally read and endorse the product, compared with twenty-seven percent for a prerecorded ad not read by the host. That represents a forty-eight percent relative increase in influence for the host-read execution. “The data gives us a much clearer picture of what trust can mean commercially,” said Rood. “The host relationship doesn’t stop when the content moves into an advertising break. In many cases, that existing trust appears to carry directly into how the listener receives the advertiser and remembers the brand.” The webinar also revealed several findings with implications for audience growth: 45% said recognizing or liking the host can influence them to try a new podcast, nearly matching the impact of seeing multiple social media clips. 54% said they grew to love their favorite podcast over time rather than immediately. 55% decide what they think about a new podcast within the first five minutes, including 14% who decide within the first minute. 38% said they are unlikely to give a disappointing podcast a second chance. 47% said they would be likely to listen for the opportunity to interact with a favorite host. The research also identified a potential new subscription model. Forty-five percent of podcast consumers said they would be at least somewhat likely to pay for a tier that removes all advertising except host-read ads. “That was one of the most interesting findings for me,” Rood said. “We tend to think about the choice as ads or no ads. Listeners appear to be telling us there may be a third option. Host-read advertising can feel different because it is delivered by someone they have already chosen to spend time with and trust.” The Podcast Study 2026 webinar series will continue October 6 with Turning Listeners Into Superfans and October 13 with Beyond the Pre-Roll. Registration and information from The Podcast Study 2026 are available at ThePodcastStudy.com.
show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

show .fm will help you run your #podcast. Automate some of the tasks and concentrate upon the art of podcasting, not the tedious parts.

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Can your podcast host help you find guests? At show .fm we have a growing Guest Network where you can easily search out suitable guests for your podcast. You can then book them with a few clicks. x.show.fm/kK7le

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Keeping up with Crossed Wires? Read the latest announcement on Podnews and get the details straight from the press release.

x.show.fmCrossed Wires 2026 Generated Over £6.6Million, Delivering Major Economic Impact for SheffieldCrossed Wires has announced a landmark year, with this year's independent economic assessment confirming the 2026 festival generated £6.65 million in total economic impact, demonstrating the growing value of the event to Sheffield's visitor economy. After doubling footfall to 50,000 attendees in 2026, the festival has further cemented its position as one of the world’s fastest-growing cultural festivals. Alongside its strong local community roots, just over half (52%) of festivalgoers travelled from outside of South Yorkshire, with 40% outside the UK North and Midlands, and Londoners sitting within the top five domestic tourists. International tickets continued to sell in the festival’s third year too, bringing audiences from America, Ireland, the Netherlands, Denmark, Spain, France, Canada and Australia to Sheffield as part of their UK summer plans. Catering to a broad appetite for live podcasts across ages, 2026 headliners ranged between Get A Grip with Vicky Pattison and Angela Scanlon to Elis James and John Robins. This was reflected in almost an even spread of ages spanning 25-65 years old: Over a quarter (28%) of attendees were aged 25-34, over a third (34%) aged 35-44 and another third (32%) aged 45-64. Founded just three years ago, Crossed Wires has rapidly evolved from an ambitious start-up festival into a nationally significant event, attracting audiences from across the UK and beyond. With visitors travelling from across the country, Crossed Wires now sits alongside major city events such as the World Snooker Championship and Tramlines Festival as one of Sheffield's most significant drivers of tourism, visitor spend and economic activity. The 2026 festival brought together some of the biggest names in podcasting, broadcasting, comedy, sport and entertainment, drawing visitors from across the country and transforming venues throughout Sheffield into a celebration of live audio, storytelling and culture. South Yorkshire's Mayor, Oliver Coppard said: "When we backed Crossed Wires in its early days, we knew South Yorkshire had the talent, creativity and ambition to make something truly special. What's happened since has been incredible. Tens of thousands of people have come to our region, filling venues, supporting local businesses and bringing millions of pounds into our economy. That's good news for Sheffield and for our communities right across South Yorkshire. Crossed Wires shows what's possible when you back creative people with big ideas. We've got world-class talent here in South Yorkshire and we’re building a reputation as a place where creators, producers and the wider industry, including the BBC, want to be. I couldn’t be prouder of what we’ve achieved together so far, and I’m excited about what comes next: making South Yorkshire the home of audio storytelling, creating new opportunities and building on the success we've already seen." Sheffield City Council’s City Executive, Kate Josephs said: “Crossed Wires has become one of Sheffield's standout cultural success stories. In just a few years it has grown into a festival with national reach, drawing audiences, talent and industry figures to our city while creating a fantastic experience for residents and visitors alike. What makes Crossed Wires so special is that it reflects the creativity and originality that Sheffield is known for. The festival brings people together, showcases our unique venues and strengthens our reputation as a city that champions culture and creative innovation in the podcasting space. The festival's ability to bring high profile national hosts, guests and programmes into our city for a wide range of audiences to enjoy is key to its success and we're very proud of everything that Crossed Wires has achieved and delivered so far. We are incredibly proud to support Crossed Wires and the team behind it. Their ambition, energy and commitment have delivered another exceptional festival this year, and we look forward to continuing our partnership as they build on that success in the years ahead.” Co-Founder Dino Sofos, said: “We’re delighted to see Crossed Wires become one of South Yorkshire’s biggest cultural events in just three years. There’s a real buzz around the festival, and reaching 50,000 attendees while generating over £6million for the local economy this year shows the scale of what we’ve created - and its potential to grow even further. We’re enormously grateful to the South Yorkshire Mayoral Combined Authority and Sheffield City Council for backing our vision from the beginning. Their support has helped us turn an ambitious new creative venture into a groundbreaking event with genuine international significance. With continued investment, we can build a global success story here in Sheffield, bringing more visitors, opportunities and creative talent to the city.”
show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

Show .fm is more than a podcast host. We handle the entire guest booking workflow from end to end. Create booking links, share them with guests. They book on, we do guest research for you, create an episode in the app ready for you. x.show.fm/Au2Co

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

If you’re a #podcaster, or are thinking about starting a #podcast, the new x.show.fm/N6nCB app will make your podcast creation easier and less time confusing. We’re just getting started, but we already do a LOT!

show.fm 🎧
@show.fm

What can you take away from Podcast Movement 2026? Get School of Podcasting’s perspective and consider what the event could mean for your own show.

x.show.fmPodcast Movement 2026 Reflections and Behind the Scenes of Two Other EventsPodcast Movement 2026 Reflections + Lessons from Two People Who Run Podcast Events I just got back from Podcast Movement, and a lot of you have been asking whether it was still worth going now that it's under new ownership, in a new location, with a whole new format. Short answer: I'm definitely going back. In this episode I walk through what changed, what I loved, what I'd tweak, and what Tom Webster's data says about where podcasting really stands. Then I sit down with two guys who have actually done it, Marc Ronick of Empowered Podcasting and Dr. Brad Miller of Pod Indy, to get the behind-the-scenes story of running a podcast event. If you've ever had that little voice in your head saying "maybe I should start my own meetup or conference," this one is for you.Podcast Movement 2026: Was It Worth It? I went down the list, old Podcast Movement versus new. The hotel and the cost. It used to be at Gaylord hotels, which run $1,000 a night, where the burgers are $30 apiece and you never leave the building. This year was BYOH: bring your own hotel. I stayed two nights at a Holiday Inn Express for $400 a night. Still pricey, but nowhere near the Gaylord. Tickets were also much cheaper because they weren't paying for that hotel arrangement. Point to the new Podcast Movement. The venue. Picture a small theater (think House of Blues) that had a baby with a cruise ship: three floors, and you can look down at the main stage from the top. The rooms were narrower, so the back row was farther from the stage than I was used to. I also learned I need new glasses, because the giant screen was split in two and I couldn't read the slides. Sessions ran with silent-disco-style headphones: turn the dial to yellow or green and you hear that stage. The strange part is that people talk while someone is presenting a few feet away. It went against everything in my body, but it works, and I could network the whole time. My one suggestion: turn on the house lights during networking breaks. When you have 40 minutes to meet people and can't see who's in the room, it's a problem (unless it's Rob Greenley, who is six foot six inches). Networking and the parties. PodPage hosted a small meetup, and I walked over to the Buzzsprout meetup too. Both were places where you could actually talk, with no blaring music. I've talked to Dan Franks, who helps plan Podcast Movement, and he says they tell every sponsor that people want to talk, not have their ears bleed. Nice to see it work. New York City. I'll miss Dallas and Chicago, but it's supposedly staying in New York to make it easier for international attendees. The food was a win, and I never felt unsafe walking around Hell's Kitchen. I ate at Cubbies and at McGee's, which I didn't realize until halfway through is tied to How I Met Your Mother. A smarter schedule. Monday and Tuesday were geared toward the business and advertising side, and Thursday and Friday were for indie podcasters. That means indie folks can save on the hotel bill. The talks are going online. They're putting the presentations on the Podcast Movement YouTube channel for free. I'm looking forward to catching the ones I missed, including Lou Mangiello and Rob Walch's talk about video.What I Learned from Tom Webster If you only see one talk at a conference, make it Tom Webster's. Here's what stuck with me:Podcasting has gone flat. It used to grow at least 3 to 5% a year, occasionally 7%. This past year it barely moved. It's still growing, but by a very small amount.Where people listen. In a survey of roughly 5,000 podcast consumers, the top three places were YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix. Not Apple, Pocket Casts, or Overcast.Where I disagree. YouTube and Spotify are open to anyone, so I get why people call them podcasts. Netflix isn't open. They have to choose you, and there's no RSS feed. For me, a podcast is an RSS feed with audio or video in it.Tom's Walmart analogy. Look at the CD section: a tiny collection of only the biggest hits (Back in Black, Rumors), nothing like a dedicated record store. His suggestion was that we should promote podcast-specific apps. My favorite is Pocket Casts: it plays audio and video, it has bookmarks (that's how I grab the clips I play on the show), and it has a web version. Podcast Standards Project: PodRoll Is Coming I sat in on my first Podcast Standards Project meeting. PodRoll, from the Podcasting 2.0 spec, is the modern version of a blogroll: a list of shows you personally recommend, living in your feed. Because feeds are public, anyone can see who's recommended most. That's human recommendations, not an algorithm you try to trick. Ask your media host if they support it (if not move ton one that does). The group is also looking at adding location, so you could find podcasts in your area.Video: Do You Have To? Some people insist you have to do video. Others said not only do you not have to, but the shows that added it didn't see much benefit beyond more work, cost, and time. In Apple's video spotlight, the shows featured were already big. I'm looking forward to Rob Walch's full presentation, because that's exactly the kind of "what's working and what's not" you go to a conference to learn.Small Events vs. Big Ones Podcast Movement had probably over 1,000 people. Empowered Podcasting had a little over 100 (about 150 this year), and Pod Indy will land somewhere between 50 and 100. Podfest usually draws a couple thousand. My favorite kind of event is single-track: everyone hears the same content, so when you step into the hallway you all have something to talk about.Interview: Running a Podcast Event with Marc Ronick and Dr. Brad Miller Why they started. Brad spent 43 years as a pastor and was a Christian concert promoter, so he'd seen the power of live events. After connecting with his local podcasting group in Indianapolis, he launched Pod Indy in 2023 (I keynoted the first one), and the fourth is coming up. Mark had been podcasting as long as I have, and didn't step into a conference until about five years ago. He felt a little out of place at the big ones, so he built a place where he'd feel comfortable. Small is a feature. Mark went in wanting Empowered Podcasting to become the next Podcast Movement. After the first one (2024, under 100 people) he noticed magic in a smaller, more intimate room, where people were learning from each other outside the sessions. He'd cap it around 200. Brad goes deep on one track, one day. The biggest surprises:You can't do it alone. Mark thought he could run it almost by himself. He carried the financial and emotional load, burned out after year two, and nearly canceled three times. Jason and Rich stepped in to save it, and he made them business partners.Ticket sales come late. In Mark's second year, only about 20 tickets sold before the final month. Brad says two-thirds of tickets arrive in the last month. This year's sales were smoother for both, and both say credibility builds over time.Bring enough lead time. Brad's first event had only three months, and he bit off more than he could chew. He also lost money using a business center, so he moved it to his church, where he has a studio, and kept it to one day with no hotel block.Hotel blocks. If you don't fill the rooms, you pay anyway. Mark's went fine this year because speakers and a good share of attendees needed rooms. Money, honestly. Brad started by deciding what he could afford to lose (he did lose some the first year, and calls it an investment). Mark admits he wasn't careful with money in the first two years and took on some debt. Both credit their wives, Debbie and Amy, for keeping them grounded and for believing in the vision. Advice if you're thinking about it:Mark: Be okay with however many people show up. Start with a few who believe in your message. If they have a good experience, they come back and become your advocates.Brad: Build transformative relationships one on one, then a few together. Have coffee or lunch with someone, or start online, before deciding whether to do a formal event.Both: Virtual is great, but nothing replaces being around like-minded people in person. Choosing speakers. Mark's pet peeve is speaker submissions that are obviously written entirely by AI: "I love using AI, but that's a lazy move, and I don't know that I want a lazy speaker on one of my stages." (My favorite line on this: if you can't take the time to write it, produce it, or record it, why should I take the time to consume it?) Brad recruits speakers through personal relationships instead of an application process. Themes so far: podcasting as a business, AI, and this year taking your podcast (and your life) to the next level with keynote speaker Cliff Ravenscraft.Pod Indy: November 7, 2026When and where: November 7, 2026, in Whiteland, Indiana (suburban Indianapolis), 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.Tickets: $37 in person, $27 live stream.Discount: use code SOP for $5 off.On the lineup: Cliff Ravenscraft (keynote), John Lee Dumas (video), Craig on AI, and me. My Takeaway If you try to start with 1,000 people, you'll burn...
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What’s shaping podcasting in 2026? Explore Acast’s Podcast Pulse 2026 and consider what the findings could mean for your content and advertising plans.

x.show.fmAcast’s Podcast Pulse 2026: The Format Argument Is Over - Audiences Ended ItHistorically, the media industry treated audio, video, and social as competing silos. Acast’s annual Podcast Pulse 2026 report, released today, reveals that audience behavior has shattered those boundaries - proving that in podcasting, what people consume is no longer a format choice but a context choice, driven by daily routines. For podcasters, this means multi-format distribution is about flexible audience reach - not a mandatory shift to video production. For advertisers, it means the potential audience is bigger than any single format can reach. The study reveals that 78% of fans globally consume podcasts across two or more formats, moving fluidly between long-form audio, video feeds, and podcast clips on social media based on where they are and what they’re doing. Multi-format consumption expands core audio rather than replacing it: 88% of fans actively consume both audio and video (up ten points from last year), while 10% remain dedicated audio-only listeners (and pure video sits at just 2%). Demonstrating this real-world fluidity, 63% of listeners start an episode in one format and finish it in another, with three-quarters switching apps mid-story to do so. "The industry spent years arguing over formats, but audiences moved on long ago," said Greg Glenday, CEO at Acast. "A podcast fan’s decision isn’t driven by format loyalty; it’s driven by whether they’re driving at 7 AM or on the couch at 9 PM. Once you see that, the audio-versus-video debate stops being interesting, and a much better commercial opportunity takes its place." Trust is moving in the same direction. 42% of fans now trust brand and product recommendations from podcasters, up nine points from 2025 - the only creator source to gain ground over the year. Journalists (31%), YouTubers (29%), celebrities (25%) and social media influencers (25%) all held flat or declined. Multiple Moments, One Connected Audience Drawing from 4,300 respondents across 13 markets, Podcast Pulse 2026 maps how daily context dictates what audiences listen to, watch, and buy across four of the moments where the data was loudest: Companion (screen-free reach): Audio dominates screenless moments, with 64% confirming podcasts are a daily companion. Conversion is exceptionally high, with 80% of audio listeners taking direct action post-episode. Settled (co-viewing at scale): 55% of fans co-view video podcasts on a Connected TV, making it podcasting’s primary screen moment where an advertiser reaches a room. Delivering results, 48% say video podcast ads increase brand recall. Scroll (the discovery engine): Social video clips are the main audience growth driver, with 63% of clip viewers converting into full-episode podcast consumers. Live (commercial advocacy at scale): Live event attendance has surged 80% since 2024 (1 in 3 fans), driving high-intent commerce: 28% buy from event sponsors, and 34% post user-generated content. What This Means for Advertisers In a multi-format environment, context solves the industry's biggest media buying challenge: ad decay. Fans don't stay in one place, so a brand doesn't have to repeat itself constantly in one place to be remembered. When people meet a brand across both audio and social clips, 1 in 3 pay it maximum attention - more than they give a message repeated inside a single show. "Meet a fan in one moment, and you’ve met part of their day," added Glenday. "Meet them across several, and you’ve met the whole person. That’s the cross-format strategy we’ve built Acast to deliver." The findings reflect Acast’s global position, connecting 140,000+ creators with advertisers across audio, video, and social feeds. Through an open approach - from partnering with Apple Podcasts to targeted network expansions like Backyard Ventures - Acast provides brands with seamless reach across every consumption moment. To read the full Podcast Pulse 2026 report, visit acast.com/pulse Methodology Podcast Pulse 2026 is based on a survey of 4,300 respondents aged 16 to 64 across 13 markets, conducted by independent research firm Differentology, in August 2026. Figures describing all fans are based on the full sample. Figures describing format consumers are based on that format’s own audience base.
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Bumper and Oxford Road partner to improve podcast ad measurement, giving brands clearer insight into campaign performance, audience response, and audio advertising impact.

x.show.fmDo Podcast Ads Reach Real Listeners? Oxford Road Partners with Bumper to Find An AnswerOxford Road, the world’s largest podcasting agency, and podcast growth agency Bumper announce a marketing partnership to bring the revolutionary Bumper Score to market as a shared, comparable read on the quality of a podcast’s audience. Inspired by a 2025 Oxford Road report that found that better data could potentially unlock another $1B for the industry, Bumper created the Bumper Score to represent how well a show delivers ads to a real, verified audience. Every participating podcast receives a score from 0 to 200, which is calculated based on three metrics: 1) podcast delivery data; 2) verified audiences from major podcast apps and platforms; 3) how much of each episode (including ads) listeners actually hear. By spanning both audio and YouTube engagement, the Bumper Score addresses the longstanding challenge of podcast measurement, while assuring advertisers that their ads are reaching real people. In partnering with Bumper, Oxford Road aims to bring the Bumper Score into planning and buying conversations with clients and partners, in the hopes of driving adoption across the industry. Improving measurement and attribution is a core mission for Oxford Road, which co-created the AMP Accords, a proposed set of standards and definitions that could result in more accurate data for creators, publishers, and networks alike. The agency sees the Bumper Score as a practical tool a buyer can use today, while the AMP Accords await industry-wide adoption. “Confusion is bad for business,” notes Oxford Road founder and CEO Dan Granger. “Right now, we make advertisers become CSI detectives just to understand whether their ads are working, and too often they decide it’s easier to take their money elsewhere. Bumper has developed a deeply thoughtful approach to making the quality of an impression more legible. The Bumper Score isn’t the finish line, but it’s a meaningful step forward.” Bumper co-founder Dan Misener adds: “Better data means greater trust–and greater trust leads to more investment. That's what the Bumper Score is all about, and we're proud to partner with Oxford Road to improve the podcast ad market for everyone.”
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Amazon Music expands video podcasts, giving creators more ways to publish visual episodes and listeners more options to watch or listen in one place.

x.show.fmAmazon Music Expands Video Podcast Catalog to More Countries and with Additional Hosting Providers and PublishersToday, Amazon Music announced new partnerships with several leading podcast hosting providers and publishers to grow its catalog of video podcasts. Amazon Music customers can now access shows hosted on ART19, Triton Digital’s Omny Studio and Flightcast, with additional hosting providers SiriusXM (inclusive of SiriusXM Media, AdsWizz and Simplecast), Megaphone, and Libsyn expected in the following months. These new partnerships will give Amazon Music customers access to podcasts available on video and audio from publishers iHeartMedia, SiriusXM, Spotify, NBC Sports, and Headgum, including popular shows such as Hey Jonas!, Joy 101 with Hoda Kotb, Pro Football Talk Live with Mike Florio, and Solved with Mark Manson. Amazon Music is also expanding video podcasts beyond the US to customers in Canada, the UK, Mexico, Brazil, and Japan. Amazon Music now supports monetization for video podcasts as well, allowing creators to dynamically insert video ads into their shows while maintaining their existing brand sponsorships and baked-in ads. Publishers and creators will retain full control over their hosting, ad inventory, and audience targeting. "Industry data confirms what our customers have been telling us — they want the flexibility to watch their favorite podcasts, in addition to listening. As video consumption continues to grow, we're constantly looking for ways to expand our offerings for customers to engage across formats. By working with leading podcast publishers, we're bringing the top video podcast shows to customers across the US, Canada, UK, Mexico, Brazil, and Japan — spanning true crime, breaking news, celebrity interviews, and more. Just as importantly, we've built this in a way that lets creators keep full ownership of their hosting, ad inventory, and audience monetization,” said Shea Simpson, Head of Spoken Word for Amazon Music. "Our strategy is simple: make the world's best creators and content available wherever consumers choose to listen, watch and engage. As podcasting continues to evolve, video has become a complementary extension of the audio experience. As the industry's leading audio platform, iHeart is focused on creating new opportunities for our talent and helping them build deeper connections with fans. This collaboration with Amazon Music expands the reach of our creators and programming, helps grow the podcast ecosystem, and creates new ways for audiences to discover and engage with the content they love," said Bob Pittman, Chairman and CEO of iHeartMedia. “Video is fundamentally changing how podcasts are created, distributed, and discovered, and our job at Flightcast is to give creators and publishers the infrastructure they need to take advantage of that shift. When Amazon Music reached out about the upcoming video capabilities, we knew our creators would want to be there on day one. And now, hundreds of them will be. Amazon Music’s commitment to giving creators greater control over their ad inventory and brand relationships, while helping them reach new audiences around the world, aligns closely with how we’ve built Flightcast. This partnership gives the creators and networks using our platform another powerful way to expand their reach, grow their businesses and meet audiences wherever they choose to watch or listen,” said Rox Codes, Co-Founder and CEO at Flightcast. With an expanded slate of video podcasts now available on Amazon Music, customers can now download episodes for offline viewing, giving them the flexibility to watch their favorite podcasts anytime, anywhere. Customers can discover featured video podcast recommendations, search for “video podcasts” or browse shows to find video podcasts, and seamlessly toggle between video and audio formats directly in the app. Video podcasts are available on iOS and Android to Amazon Music customers across all subscription tiers. For more information, please visit https://music.amazon.com.
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Rumble partners with Podscribe to bring podcast-style measurement and attribution to video, helping advertisers track performance and reach across creator content.

x.show.fmPodscribe Partners with Rumble for State-of-the-Art Attribution of Video Host-ReadsPodscribe, the leading independent attribution, measurement, and verification platform for podcast, audio, and creator advertising, today announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with RUM Group’s Rumble, the video and media platform built for creators and audiences who value free expression, giving human creativity a voice to bring enhanced measurement and attribution to host-read advertising within creator content on Rumble. Through a direct integration between Podscribe and Rumble, advertisers can better understand how exposure to their Rumble campaigns drives website visits, conversions, purchases, and other outcomes. The integration enables direct attribution for host-read, baked-in ads within creator content and podcasts on Rumble — inventory that cannot be directly attributed in the same way on comparable video platforms such as YouTube and Spotify Video. The integration brings the level of measurement advertisers have come to expect from podcast and digital audio campaigns to Rumble’s growing video ecosystem. Rumble is the first video platform to fully provide the signals required for attribution under the Alliance for Measurement in Podcasting (AMP) attribution specification. “This Rumble partnership is an amazing first-of-its-kind example of a platform leaning into the Alliance for Measurement in Podcasting (AMP) attribution spec to give the most accurate podcast attribution yet known. It indicates the growing momentum in the industry to give advertisers the strongest possible measurement & transparency” said Pete Birsinger, CEO and Founder of Podscribe. "Campaign success is essential to our clients and our growth as a video advertising platform," said Greg Sherrill, President Ad Sales of Rumble. “Our integration with Podscribe’s direct attribution solution and their adherence to AMP’s specifications helps us further delight advertisers, increase renewals, and deliver more compelling ads for our viewers. As we already have many of Podscribe’s top shows on Rumble, this should increase the opportunity to work with more advertisers." Nearly 10% of the top 100 shows measured by Podscribe are already publishing content on Rumble, demonstrating the platform’s growing role within the broader podcast and creator ecosystem. More Precise Attribution for Video Host-Reads Previously, Podscribe incorporated Rumble consumption into campaign reporting using modeled attribution. Through the new direct integration, Podscribe can use privacy-compliant signals provided by Rumble to deterministically match eligible ad exposure to advertiser outcomes, eliminating the need to rely on modeled attribution for these Rumble campaigns. Rumble provides signals such as mobile advertising IDs and hashed emails, allowing Podscribe to attribute outcomes even in situations where noisy IP addresses could otherwise require modeling. Podscribe also receives consumption data from Rumble, allowing attribution to focus on viewers who actually reached and were exposed to the ad rather than broadly attributing exposure to anyone who downloaded or played any portion of an episode. The integration is fully privacy-compliant, with consent obtained directly through the Rumble platform. For advertisers, this provides greater visibility into the impact of their Rumble investment, including conversions that traditional methods such as promo codes and click-through attribution may miss. For example, a viewer could be exposed to a host-read ad on Rumble, never click an ad or use the advertised promo code, and later visit the advertiser’s website directly to make a purchase. With Podscribe attribution and the advertiser’s conversion pixel in place, that advertiser can better understand the role the Rumble exposure played in driving the outcome. Giving Advertisers Greater Transparency The partnership reflects a shared commitment from Rumble and Podscribe to make creator advertising more transparent, measurable, and accountable. Stronger measurement also gives Rumble creators and advertising partners a new way to demonstrate the value and performance of audiences consuming their content on the platform. Building Momentum for AMP Attribution The signals provided through the Rumble integration meet the Alliance for Measurement in Podcasting (AMP) attribution specification, making Rumble a leading example of how video and creator platforms can support transparent, privacy-compliant attribution. By opting into the specification, Rumble establishes a precedent for platforms to provide advertisers with the signals necessary to independently measure campaign outcomes while maintaining consumer privacy. The partnership also represents growing momentum behind AMP’s effort to establish common standards for attribution across the podcast and creator advertising ecosystem. Seamlessly Integrated Into Podscribe For existing Podscribe customers, measuring eligible Rumble campaigns is designed to be seamless. Podscribe already matches Rumble content and campaigns within its platform for reporting including airchecks and view counts. Through the direct integration, campaigns running with Rumble creators can automatically use the appropriate Rumble identifiers for attribution within Podscribe, without requiring additional Rumble-specific measurement setup from publishers or advertisers. Getting Started Advertisers already running campaigns on Rumble can measure eligible campaigns through Podscribe to gain greater visibility into performance alongside their other podcast, audio, video, and creator media. Creators and publishers interested in distributing their content on Rumble can learn more about Rumble’s upload process at rumble.support/help/upload-process. Advertisers interested in running host-read sponsorships with Rumble creators can contact sales@rumble.com. To learn more about measuring Rumble campaigns with Podscribe, contact partnerships@podscribe.com.
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A new 2026 podcast study shares insights on listener habits, platform use, audience growth, and what creators and advertisers should watch as podcasting keeps evolving.

x.show.fmThe Podcast Study 2026 Reveals the Power of Trust, Hosts, and New Revenue OpportunitiesHal Rood, Partner at Strategic Solutions Research, and Tim Bronsil, Owner and CEO of Point-To-Point Marketing, have just left the stage at the Sounds Profitable Business Summit after presenting the first public findings from The Podcast Study 2026. In just ten minutes, Rood and Bronsil shared a series of findings pointing to one central idea: podcasting has achieved scale, but trust may be its most important differentiator. The relationship between a host, or a familiar and trusted voice, and the audience influences where listeners spend their time, how they react to advertising, what they remember, and even what they may be willing to pay for. The Podcast Study 2026 surveyed 1,205 podcast consumers in a nationally representative study designed to examine podcast consumption, advertising effectiveness, monetization, discovery, loyalty, and the evolving relationship between hosts and audiences. Crooked Media, NPR, and PRX are co-sponsors of the research. Among the findings revealed at the Summit: 82% say the host is a big part of, or the only reason for, listening to their favorite podcast. 88% spend at least half of their podcast listening time with one favorite podcast. Host endorsements have a measurable impact beyond the original ad exposure. 57% say they are more likely to remember the brand, 55% are more likely to notice the ad again, 44% are more likely to trust the ad, and 41% are more likely to consider buying the product. 45% are at least somewhat likely to pay for a subscription tier that removes all advertising except host-read ads. About half of the audience would pay $3 to $5 per month for that type of offering, presenting an intriguing new revenue opportunity built around advertising delivered by the voices that listeners value. 75% would welcome or accept interest-targeted advertising in exchange for keeping podcasts free. Even as 45% perceive more advertising than a year ago, 46% say the current ad load is acceptable or that they could tolerate more. Email remains a largely untapped extension of the relationship. Among podcast listeners who do not currently receive podcast emails, 64% say they would sign up or that it would depend on the offer. The findings presented on stage reinforced the theme of this year’s presentation, “The Podcast Study 2026: Buying Trust, Not Just Reach.” Rather than viewing the podcast opportunity simply as another way to accumulate impressions, the data suggests that brands, publishers, and creators have opportunities to build around a relationship that audiences have already chosen to establish. Rood explained, “Every podcaster is asking how to turn audience into revenue. This study tracks the entire engagement funnel: discovery, loyalty, and the point where a follower becomes a Superfan, so producers can stop guessing. The findings we shared today are only the beginning, and I’m excited that The Podcast Study will again provide a unique look at how to move the industry forward.” “We had ten minutes today to share some of the headlines, but there is far too much in this research to stop there,” added Bronsil. “The relationship with the host, or a familiar and trusted voice like NPR utilizes, shows up again and again in listening, advertising effectiveness, willingness to pay, and opportunities beyond the episode. There are actionable ideas here for publishers, advertisers, and creators, and now we want to take the time to explore what the data really means.” To take the findings deeper and make the research available to the broader industry, Strategic Solutions Research and Point-To-Point Marketing will host four free webinars in the coming weeks: September 22, 2026: The Host and the Power of Trust October 6, 2026: Advertising Without Breaking the Relationship October 13, 2026: Beyond the Pre-Roll October 20, 2026: What Radio Can Learn from The Podcast Study 2026 Each session will move beyond the initial Summit headlines to explore additional findings, implications, and actionable opportunities from the research. The first three webinars will focus on the podcast industry, while the October 20 presentation will bring together the findings most relevant to broadcasters, personalities, programmers, sellers, and advertisers. Registration for all four free webinars is available now. The webinar series continues the commitment from Strategic Solutions Research and Point-To-Point Marketing to make the findings, insights, and actionable takeaways from The Podcast Study 2026 available to the industry. Strategic Solutions Research and Point-To-Point Marketing also thank Crooked Media, NPR, and PRX for their support as co-sponsors of The Podcast Study 2026 and for helping make this important national research possible.
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BBC launches early access podcasts, giving listeners a way to hear selected shows before wider release and adding another option for podcast fans to follow new episodes.

x.show.fmBBC.com Adds Early Access Podcasts for Pay Model Subscribers in the U.S. and CanadaBBC Studios today announced that BBC.com subscribers in the United States and Canada can now enjoy early access to select BBC podcasts, giving members the opportunity to listen to episodes before their wider release. Beginning today, episodes from several popular BBC podcasts will start rolling out to subscribers ahead of their general availability, including Good Bad Billionaire, History's Secret Heroes, In Our Time, Intrigue, You're Dead To Me and World of Secrets, with additional titles expected over time. Tara Maitra, President, Commercial News at BBC Studios, said: "The BBC.com subscription offering continues to evolve as we bring more of the BBC together in one place. The addition of early access podcasts is another step in creating a richer, more engaging experience for subscribers, giving audiences greater access and more ways to connect with BBC's trusted journalism and distinctive storytelling.” BBC.com will also debut a video podcast edition of In Our Time, one of the BBC's longest-running and most celebrated audio franchises, for subscribers. Spanning history, religion, culture, science and philosophy, In Our Time brings together host Misha Glenny and leading experts for in-depth conversations exploring the people, events and discoveries that have shaped our world. The first video podcast edition of In Our Time premieres Thursday, September 17 on BBC.com and BBC Select, BBC Studios' ad-free premium documentary streaming service in the U.S. and Canada. New video episodes will premiere each Thursday first on BBC.com and BBC Select before later becoming available ex-UK on the BBC Podcasts YouTube channel. Upcoming episodes include Thomas More's Utopia, the influential and ambiguous 1516 work that has been interpreted as both an ideal society and a timeless warning; the world of particle accelerators and their far-reaching applications in science, medicine and archaeology; and the film Casablanca and its enduring emotional power. These additions build on a growing suite of subscriber features available through BBC.com, including unlimited access to BBC global news and reporting, the BBC News livestream in the U.S., ad-free documentaries and podcasts, exclusive newsletters, and other premium experiences designed to provide deeper context and insight beyond the headlines. The BBC.com annual subscription is available for US$49.99 in the United States and CAN$69.99 in Canada. For more information, visit www.bbc.com/subscribe.
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Disctopia announces a new patent, highlighting its work on podcast technology, creator tools, and innovation for distributing and monetizing audio content.

x.show.fm10,000 plays. Zero attention. Disctopia just patented the fixFor years, streaming has built an economy around one deceptively simple number: the play. Someone clicks. A stream starts. A podcast downloads. A view gets counted. But did anyone actually listen? Did they stay? Did they engage? And should a creator whose audience stays for 45 minutes be valued the same as one whose audience disappears after 45 seconds? Disctopia believes the answer is no — and now it has a U.S. patent behind that position. Disctopia, Inc. today announced that the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has issued U.S. Patent No. 12,738,272, covering technology for analyzing content engagement, measuring audience presence, and connecting verified engagement to creator compensation. Founder and CEO Patrick A. Hill is the named inventor. The patent issued with 28 claims and claims priority to June 28, 2023. “The internet learned how to monetize the click. We built a system around what happens after the click,” said Patrick Hill, Founder and CEO of Disctopia. “A play tells you somebody started something. It does not tell you they cared. It does not tell you they stayed. And it definitely should not automatically tell you what a creator is worth.” The play count has a problem Consider two creators. Both generate 10,000 plays. The first holds its audience through nearly the entire program. The second loses most of it within the opening minutes. On a traditional dashboard, both walk into an advertising conversation holding the same headline number. Both shows report the same headline number. Only one of them has an audience. Those audiences are not the same. Their value to an advertiser is not the same. And Disctopia argues their economic value should not automatically be treated as the same. What it changes for advertisers Today the same rate buys both shows, because 10,000 is the only number either one can produce. When completion is verified, price can follow attention instead of volume — and the advertiser comes out ahead: paying a premium for the show that holds its audience still lowers the cost per genuinely engaged impression. Inventory inflated by clickbait, or by content looped on a rack of devices, stops competing on equal footing with inventory that has real people behind it. Fraud can inflate a play count. It cannot manufacture an audience that stayed. What it changes for creator payouts This is the part the patent actually claims. Every independent claim ends the same way — payment transferred to the content owner as a share determined by the verified presence metric. Engagement is not merely reported back to the creator; it is what sets what the creator is paid. A show with 800 listeners who finish everything can be worth more than one with 30,000 who leave in the opening minutes, and that creator finally has a number to prove it instead of an argument to make. Put simply: Disctopia is not counting whether somebody pressed play. It is building technology around whether somebody actually showed up. What the patent covers Measuring presence during a stream. Rather than assuming that starting content equals consuming it, the system evaluates activity during streaming and builds a presence metric as consumption continues. Measuring engagement. The technology can generate content-aware prompts, evaluate audience responses, and develop an engagement score from those interactions. Connecting engagement to compensation. The claims cover transferring resources to content owners with compensation determined in relation to measured engagement. Understanding the actual content. Speech recognition converts audio into text and identifies keywords, so the system knows what is being consumed rather than treating every file as an anonymous stream — which further claims extend to supplemental content, purchase attribution, and transfers between advertisers and content owners. A download is distribution. It is not proof someone listened. The distinction matters most in podcasting, where an episode can be downloaded to a device automatically without anyone consuming it. Disctopia’s position is straightforward: a download should be reported as a download. It is legitimate distribution data, and Disctopia records it and reports it to creators. But distribution and attention are not the same thing — and neither is moving a playback position forward the same as listening to everything in between. “Attention should be worth something. Completion should be worth something. Real audiences should be worth something,” Hill said. “And creators should not have to compete against inflated numbers to prove their value.” Patent details: U.S. Patent No. 12,738,272, “System for Distribution of Content and Analysis of Content Engagement,” issued September 15, 2026 with 28 claims. Application Serial No. 18/758,925, filed June 28, 2024, claiming priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/523,865 filed June 28, 2023; published January 2, 2025 as US 2025/0006191 A1. Inventor: Patrick A. Hill. Assignee: Disctopia, Inc.