Google’s podcast download spike

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• Google appears to be driving hundreds of thousands of podcast downloads every week, that we don’t think are being listened-to. The Google Audio News product on mobile phones and smart speakers is driving significant extra traffic - and, we can reveal today, we’re not the only company who has noticed.
• Podtrac released its March US podcast rankings. Among the most popular podcasts, NPR News Now has overtaken The Daily; and VINCE has debuted into the chart at #7 - the show is by Vince Coglianese, and has taken over Dan Bongino’s feed.
• Livewire published the top podcast hosting companies for February, based on released episodes. Spotify for Creators posted a ten-month high; #2 Spreaker posted a record number of new episodes, and Buzzsprout remains on a two-year high at #3. Libsyn posted another all-time low.

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