Podnews Weekly Review

Adam Curry, pioneering podcaster and co-founder of Podcasting 2.0 and the Podcast Index, explores his AI-powered Podcast Index Robot. They discuss personalized discovery, transcript and chapter search, local AI, privacy, MCP servers, micropayments, and the future of RSS. The conversation also covers independent podcast apps, platform consolidation, creator hubs, clips, YouTube, and AI agents reshaping media.

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailJames is back from Europe; and we chat about why podcast ad spend is rising. Plus...• Libsyn RSS namespace for ad slot availability and why it feels odd in public feeds • Goalhanger’s newsletter strategy as a membership product and audience data hub • smart TV growth for podcast consumption and why smart speakers still fail discovery • Canadian in car listening data plus listener resistance to AI hosts • AI agents clipping shows, MCP servers, and how micropayments could change access • blocking scrapers with WAF rules and the limits of user agent based controls • Spotify audiobooks expansion and the attention competition inside major apps • human written certification for books and the wider provenance problem • bot driven streaming fraud as a warning for future podcast monetisation • app and hosting updates including transcripts, video tools, and evolving person tags Become a monthly subscriber! weekly.podnews.netSupport the showConnect With Us: Email: [email protected]: @[email protected] and @[email protected] us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net

Dave Jones, podcasting technologist and co-founder of the Podcast Index, explores podcasting’s open future. He discusses Podping’s real-time gossip mesh, rebuilding directories through distributed data, and the origins of Podcasting 2.0. The conversation also covers live podcasting, micropayments and stablecoins, AI scraping, Reddit’s RSS shutdown, Patreon’s billing changes, and the tension between discovery and marketing.

Steve Ackerman, former global podcast leader at Sony, and Juliana Meyer, founder of SupaPass, join a wide-ranging look at Podcast Week. Topics include YouTube and Spotify’s growing influence, measurement standards, Apple and Amazon’s video moves, Spotify’s expanded creator program, and Goalhanger’s revenue mix. Meyer explores creator-owned portals, communities, branded apps, subscriptions, sponsorships, and flexible monetization.

A lightning-fast update arrives from Podcast Movement NYC, with a preview of the week’s packed podcasting calendar, including Sounds Profitable and the IAB Podcast Upfronts. The usual deep dive is postponed for a birthday celebration, with a full news review promised next week.

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailWe talk with the founders of Everywhere about building a sales and monetisation layer for creators whose audiences now span podcasts, YouTube, social, and live. We also scan the week’s podcast industry moves, from AI production tools and shifting download trends to Apple updates, app features, awards, and upcoming events. • Why Everywhere forms and what it tries to fix for creators and brands • How cross-platform campaigns work without drowning audiences in sponsors • The difference between a media agency and a creator sales house • Revenue model basics, revenue share and incentives for creator monetisation • Measurement problems across platforms, APIs, dashboards and “real” performance • Spotify skip button concerns and why platform agnostic strategy matters • Linnet AI production studio and what an end-to-end workflow could change • Podtrac ranker drops, podcast inactivity stats and what they do and do not mean • Hosting and ad tech moves, DAI access, contextual targeting and video ads • Pocket Casts updates, Apple web player improvements and other tooling news • Awards, events, and community notes including Podcast Movement plans BuzzsproutStart podcasting - keep podcasting!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Support the showConnect With Us: Email: [email protected]: @[email protected] and @[email protected] us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net

Greg Glenday, Acast’s CEO, and Matt Cisneros, founder of creator-services company Backyard Ventures, discuss Acast’s acquisition and the push toward creator-first growth. They explore video podcasting, newsletters, YouTube shopping, Spotify ad skips, measurement disputes, responsible AI, and the realities of expanding across Asia. Plus, Podcast Day Asia reveals how localization, payments, and platform choice are reshaping podcast monetization.

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailJames and Sam look into this week's podcasting news, including the show pulled by YouTube.• YouTube removing a top podcast with no warning, then reinstating it • The risk of building a show on third-party platforms and automated enforcement • Why we think a podcast needs an RSS feed to be a podcast • YouTube reportedly paying creators to avoid Netflix and the coercion angle • Newsletters as the best real estate in podcasting and why platforms are piling in • Acast partnering with Kit versus all-in-one creator platforms like Beehive • Spotify Megaphone issues affecting ad campaigns and DAI reliability • Podbean analytics filters mistakenly wiping Apple Podcasts downloads • The whack-a-mole problem of bots, crawlers, and imperfect measurement • Podcast 2.0 building blocks gaining traction: person tags and location tags • Podcast Radar as a map-based discovery tool and why rich location data matters • Threads experimenting with transcript-synced audio posts • Listener mail on Megaphone support and hosting fit Support the showConnect With Us: Email: [email protected]: @[email protected] and @[email protected] us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailJames is joined this week by Liam Heffernan from Mercury Podcasts, while Sam gets wet walking around Ireland.We weigh how platform decisions around ads, metrics, and video can quietly reshape podcast monetization, especially for smaller independent creators. We also zoom out to what these changes mean for trust in reporting, discoverability, and the future of open podcasting.• Mercury Podcasts’ mission to support independent shows ready to level up• Independent Podcasters Day and why indies need their own space• Spotify ad skipping tests and the knock on effects for programmatic revenue• Listener tolerance for unskippable ads and the risk of audience platform switching• YouTube’s “views” versus “engaged views” and why measurement transparency matters• Video podcast growth claims from Apple Podcasts and Buzzsprout plus what the numbers might miss• Discoverability pressure on audio only creators as platforms push video• Inception Point AI rebrand to Liquify AI and what the pivot signals• Megaphone back end changes, ad delivery quirks, and competitive separation rules• Podcast ad spend growth in Australia and Ireland plus notable industry job moves• Awards, events, and why more regional podcast conferences matter• Practical AI use in production workflows and where automation goes too farSupport the showConnect With Us: Email: [email protected]: @[email protected] and @[email protected] us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net

Send James and Sam a message or voicemailWe speak with Ben and Alberto from RSS.com on their new video podcast plan. Plus, Acast is buying Backyard Ventures: why?• RSS.com MAX plan for Apple HLS video and 70% revenue share • PAID meaning programmatic ads inserted dynamically • Interstitial ad markers on Apple versus baked ads for other apps • Alternate enclosure as a Podcasting 2.0 path to keep RSS open • Apple’s ad serving fee question and the limits of contract transparency • Why Apple may prefer an API workflow for video safety controls • YouTube raising monetisation thresholds and what that signals to creators • Spotify’s ad skip experiment and the risks of relying on one platform • Acast buying Backyard Ventures as a scale and inventory play in the US • Apple Podcasts play counts critique and why some analysts say ignore them • Magellan AI reporting ad revenue growth alongside rising ad load • Disney Plus, Hulu, and Twitch as new distribution surfaces for podcasts • Overcast and iOS updates plus the expanding HLS support lists • AI slop reporting ideas and watermarking attempts • Browser based transcription and summary tools as cheaper hosting features Get updated every day. Subscribe to our newsletter at podnews.net. Support the showConnect With Us: Email: [email protected]: @[email protected] and @[email protected] us: www.buzzsprout.com/1538779/supportGet Podnews: podnews.net