Video podcasts leads to audio consumption

Perhaps video is the new gateway drug for podcasting. 72% of new podcast listeners, and 68% of long-time podcast listeners say they have started listening to the audio-only version of a podcast after discovering its video version. That's according to data that Edison Research revealed earlier this week in The Evolving Ear. The company also says that video podcasts are now more popular than audio-only podcasts among new podcast consumers; though this popularity is based on number of people, not necessarily time spent. The research cautions us to be prepared for changes in consumption.

Spotify says that sports podcast consumption goes wild on the run up to the Super Bowl - +172% above average last year on the lead-up to the game - but in fact the days following the game saw a +358% surge. You'd expect this to also be the case for other podcast platforms. Spotify's Brian Berner tells us that “Sports fandom doesn’t start at kickoff or end at the final whistle anymore — it lives in the conversations that happen before and after the game. The level of engagement we see creates a powerful environment for brands to show up in ways that feel timely, relevant, and aligned with fan passion.” The Super Bowl is on Feb 8.

By the way - Spotify coyly called it "The Big Game" in their email to us; here's why. We're calling the Super Bowl in our coverage (because 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(3)(B)), but for your podcast, you may wish to check whether you, too, have to call it "The Big Game".

Apple released their financial results - posting an all-time quarterly record. Apple Services (which includes the revenue from Apple Podcasts) reached a record of $30bn, up +14% year-on-year. The company acquired an audio AI startup called Q.ai for $2bn, for reasons that weren't disclosed.