Advertise on podcast: The Download

PodcastOne says multiple strategic parties have approached it about an acquisition, and its board has formed an independent special committee and plans to hire an investment banker. This episode asks whether that signals real consolidation in podcasting or a company talking up its own stock price, and what a buyer might pay. Host Reid Mercer weighs PodcastOne's company-reported pitch against a recent comparable deal, new listener survey data, and industry ad revenue figures, so listeners can judge whether advertisers will support the valuation. Several figures come through secondary sources, and the episode notes those caveats. - PodcastOne's case: The company cites a Podtrac ranking as the sixth-largest US publisher, over a billion monthly impressions, and $61.7M in fiscal 2026 revenue. It argues its stock undervalues scale and data. The episode separates reach from monetized reach. - The comp: Acast is buying Backyard for $20M, according to Podnews. The team stays, the brand is retired, and the shows currently sit on ART19 and Megaphone. No ad stack or hosting move has been reported, and any parallel to a PodcastOne suitor is speculation. - Listener ad tolerance: In the Podcast Study 2026 figures, 54.8% say there are too many ads and 8.6% would accept more. Surveys capture stated views rather than behavior, but models that assume higher ad load may hit a ceiling. - Baseline and platforms: The IAB/PwC figures put podcast advertising at about $2.9B, growing 17.6% versus 13.9% for internet ads. Podnews platform rankings show YouTube at 63%, Spotify at 33%, Netflix at 21%, and Apple at 15%. - What to price: Growth rate, ad tolerance, and distribution leverage. Forward this episode to a colleague who needs to hear it. Tips and feedback: [email protected] 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

Netflix has hired Steve Wilson, a fifteen-year Apple Podcasts veteran, to lead podcast content acquisition, starting as a consultant. The hire arrives alongside a reported layoff of roughly six percent at Netflix. This episode looks at what the move signals about Netflix's podcast strategy and what it could mean for the people who make and sell shows. Host Reid Mercer works through two questions: what this hire says about what Netflix wants from podcasts, and who gets paid as video podcasts spread across more screens. Listeners will come away with a clearer view of Netflix's current catalog, the open questions around exclusivity, and how Instagram's new long-form video test changes the options for creators. - The résumé: Wilson's path from Apple Podcasts through QCODE and Daylight Media, and whether the consultant start is a concentrated bet or a hedge. - Exclusivity and missing data: Netflix's mix of licensed and original podcasts, the exclusivity requirement, and the lack of released viewing stats, plus a seller's checklist covering duration, what the fee is tied to, and what data comes back. - Instagram's long-form test: Videos of up to ninety minutes with selected US creators, Reels that link to full episodes, and no ad revenue share currently planned. - What to price and watch: Netflix viewing data, Instagram revenue sharing, and how to weigh exclusivity against reach. Forward this episode to a colleague who needs to hear it. Tips and feedback: [email protected] 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

Spotify is launching paid podcast memberships, and creators reportedly keep 90 percent of the revenue. In this episode, host Reid Mercer looks past the headline to ask what that split leaves out, starting with what Spotify actually launched: memberships that let creators sell exclusive content and perks for recurring payments, including ad-free listening, early access, and bonus content. The episode matters for podcasters, network executives, and anyone pricing audio subscriptions, because the bigger story may be who controls the payment relationship and the fan data, not the revenue percentage. It also looks at how Apple's video move in Subscriptions and YouTube's free discovery shape the competitive picture. - The launch: what Spotify's paid memberships include and what remains unanswered about the unit economics. - Checkout and margin: why web checkout, avoiding app-store fees, and ownership of fan data may matter more than the split. Margin figures are unknown, and some details on checkout are unverified. - Apple and YouTube: Apple's late-September announcement of video in Subscriptions across 170+ countries with no launch date, and what it means for creators working across several platforms. - What to price and watch: how many shows clear eligibility, whether creators keep free reach while walling off premium perks, and whether fan data portability shifts leverage from networks to talent. Forward this episode to a colleague who needs to hear it. Tips and feedback: [email protected] 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

This episode revisits the reported Jay Shetty deal with Netflix and Spotify, which Forbes, citing Bloomberg, said was worth up to $100M, and asks what a buyer is actually paying for when a video podcast moves into an exclusive window. Host Reid Mercer treats it as a briefing rather than breaking news, built around two questions: what is being bought, and whether the benchmark used to price these deals measures the right thing. For executives, networks, and anyone pricing audio and video podcast assets, the episode lays out how the market baseline, exclusive video windows, and ad load interact, and what to check before signing or renewing a deal. - The baseline: The IAB/PwC full-year 2025 figure of about $2.9B in audio ad revenue, up 17.6%, and why its audio-based definition may be aging as video leads consumption. Reid's link between that gap and deal pricing is his own inference. - The exclusive video window: Netflix's multi-year Barstool deal and the reported move of Shetty's On Purpose video to Netflix and Spotify, with what each side gains and gives up, and which terms remain unknown. - Where leverage shifts: Audio networks lose leverage first, talent gains in the room but may give some back at renewal, and advertisers shop the platform's menu. - What to price now: The cost of the window in reach, what the audio baseline leaves out, and the limits of an ad-load-heavy payback plan, including a press-release claim, flagged as unverified, that fewer than one in ten listeners would accept more ads. - Brand suitability: A brief look at the Podnews headline that Amazon Ads DVA+ added brand suitability, with details not yet checked. The takeaway in one line: price the window, question the baseline, and cap ad load. Forward this episode to a colleague who needs to hear it. Tips and feedback: [email protected] 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

Amazon Ads is adding Barometer's episode-level brand suitability technology to its DVA+ platform, as reported by Insideradio on October 6. This episode of The Download, hosted by Reid Mercer, reads past the headline to look at what Amazon is assembling in podcast advertising: audio supply, creator networks, video distribution and a suitability layer that may decide which inventory gets bought. For executives in podcast media, advertising and talent, the question is who controls access to Amazon's buying path and what that means for fill rates, CPMs and creator leverage. Reid separates what is confirmed from what remains unproven, including unanswered questions about pricing and unit economics. - What Amazon is selling: Audio supply from partners including Spotify Ad Exchange, SiriusXM Media/AdsWizz and iHeart/Triton, available through PMP and Programmatic Guaranteed. Integration is not ownership, and whether Triton's pairing with Amazon first-party signals lifts publisher pricing is still open. - Creators plug in, and safety becomes the gate: Red Seat Ventures is bringing audio and video podcast inventory to Amazon DSP, while Barometer's AI contextual suitability tool judges each episode on its own. Reid argues the suitability layer looks like the control point. - Video and leverage over talent: Amazon Music's video podcast support, the Podcast Nation and WME signings, and what they do and do not show. Two data points are not a trend, and neither source links the signings to Amazon. - What to do next: Audit exposure to Amazon's buying path, ask how suitability controls affect fill and pricing, and learn your scores and review catalogs episode by episode. Track ad infrastructure and talent deals together, but hold the link loosely. Forward this to a colleague who needs to hear it. Tips and feedback: [email protected] 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

U.S. podcast advertising hit $2.86 billion in 2025, up 17.6% year over year according to the IAB and PwC's Internet Advertising Revenue Report. Host Reid Mercer digs beneath that headline number to ask whether the growth is spread evenly across the market or concentrated in a small slice of premium inventory while everyone else competes for what's left. This episode breaks down the CPM split between host-read and programmatic ads, examines how live commerce is pulling attention and dollars into the audio space, and traces what a major exclusive talent deal signals about where advertisers are placing their trust. It closes with a look at unexpected new entrants building podcast strategies of their own, and what their arrival means for the industry's supply and pricing dynamics. - Host-read CPMs run roughly $24-26 versus $12-15 for programmatic, and podcasting's 34.1% share of digital audio is outgrowing the category's own growth rate. - Whatnot's $545 million funding round at a $20 billion valuation puts live commerce, a market over $22 billion, in direct competition for listener attention. - The Audacy-MeidasTouch exclusive deal, effective September 2026, is read as a defensive hedge that may be squeezing renewal rates for mid-tier shows. - Non-endemic entrants from cable news to HR conferences to transit agencies are entering the podcast space, alongside real audience growth in markets like Germany. - The dilution risk in podcast advertising looks like a supply and pricing problem, not a shrinking audience. Have a colleague who needs to hear this breakdown? Send it their way. Tips and feedback: [email protected] 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

This episode of The Download examines three separate deals that reveal where new capital is entering podcast audio right now, and why they point to two very different buyers with two very different motives. Host Reid Mercer breaks down James Murdoch's acquisition of a legacy podcast and media bundle, OpenAI's emergence as a serious podcast advertiser, and a fresh round of talent deals that suggest hosts now have real leverage in negotiations. Listeners will come away with a clearer picture of how legacy media money and AI or platform money are moving into audio at the same time, for different reasons, and what that means for network operators, advertisers, and talent trying to price their own value. Reid also flags the one number nobody in these headlines is actually measuring: real audience retention. - How Murdoch's Lupa Systems deal signals a bet on infrastructure, not just content - Why OpenAI's ad spend surge and earlier acquisition suggest a repeatable customer-acquisition playbook for AI labs - What the Newton and Roose talks and Audacy's MeidasTouch deal reveal about talent pricing power - A practical takeaway for mid-size network operators tracking both legacy and platform buyers - Why deal size and ad spend don't equal proof of engaged, loyal listenership Forward this episode to a colleague who needs to hear it. Send tips and feedback to [email protected]. 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

This episode breaks down the nine-figure deal that moved Jay Shetty's "On Purpose" off iHeartMedia and into a new home, and what it signals about the shifting economics of premium podcast talent. Host Reid Mercer walks through the audience and revenue trends behind the bidding war, reveals who actually won the deal, and unpacks a separate ownership dispute that shows what happens when talent agreements aren't built to survive disagreement. Listeners will get a clear picture of why platforms are paying record sums for top talent, how ad-sales control and exclusivity terms can matter more than headline price tags, and what executives should be asking before they sign the next big talent deal. - Growth data from Audacy, iHeartMedia, and SiriusXM showing why premium talent has become so expensive - The end of Jay Shetty's three-year partnership with iHeartMedia and the nine-figure bidding war that followed - The reveal: Spotify and Netflix land the deal, reported at up to $100 million, with Spotify controlling ad sales - Why the broader Spotify-Netflix pact pulls video off YouTube, with one notable exception - A parallel dispute involving Karl Stefanovic's court-supervised buyout, and the diligence question every executive should be asking about asset control If this episode gives you something worth sharing, forward it to a colleague who needs to hear it. Tips and feedback: [email protected] 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

SiriusXM's Q1 2026 numbers look strong on the surface: net income up 20% to $245 million, podcast ad revenue surging 37%, and a new YouTube ad-rep deal positioned as a structural edge over Spotify. This episode digs into why a company with results like these would still need a defensive play, and uncovers the bigger story sitting underneath the earnings headline. Listeners will get the details on unconfirmed merger talks between SiriusXM and iHeart, what a combined entity of that scale could mean for advertisers and talent, and why CEO Jennifer Witz stayed silent on the question. The conversation then widens into the AI content-licensing fight reaching audio, using the Seattle Times and Newsday's lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft as a case study, before closing with a look at niche ad-tech networks and why media companies of every size are building their own distribution and data moats instead of waiting on the big platforms. - SiriusXM's Q1 growth metrics and the YouTube ad-rep deal, and what they signal beyond the press release - Unconfirmed SiriusXM-iHeart merger talks and the combined scale that would force a market response - The Seattle Times and Newsday lawsuit against OpenAI and Microsoft, and its implications for audio content licensing - How niche ad-tech networks and owned distribution are becoming a strategic priority across media Forward this episode to a colleague who needs to hear it. Send tips and feedback to [email protected]. 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

Three unrelated headlines turn out to be one story. This episode connects James Murdoch's Lupa Systems acquisition of New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network, SiriusXM's Q2 revenue report, and Audacy's new exclusive sales deal with MeidasTouch Network to reveal what's really driving value in audio right now: the ad server infrastructure underneath the content. Host Reid Mercer breaks down why these deals aren't really about content at all, tracing the money from Murdoch's $300 million question through SiriusXM and Audacy's monetization plays, and into the real turn: a full-scale ad server land grab centered on Spotify's Megaphone migration. The episode closes with what this consolidation means for CPMs, ad strategy, and how executives should be thinking about inventory value going forward. - Why Murdoch's Vox Media Podcast Network and New York Magazine purchase raises questions about content versus infrastructure, especially with CEO Jim Bankoff moving with the deal - How SiriusXM's $2.16B Q2 revenue and Audacy's MeidasTouch deal reveal rising ad-load-per-episode masking as growth, even as downloads stay flat - What the Spotify Ad Server migration of Megaphone publishers means for the industry, including PMP deals, DSP access, and the July 2026 cutover killing VAST tags - Why Andy Maxwell argues chasing low CPMs mispriced podcasting's real value, and how Dentsu Podcast Network's first-year numbers prove the higher-value model works - The cable-bundling parallel explaining why this is a fight over pipes, not shows Forward this to a colleague who needs to hear it. Tips and feedback: [email protected] 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

This week on The Download, Reid Mercer follows the money behind four stories that look like culture headlines but read like balance-sheet decisions. The episode breaks down Martha Stewart's move to Netflix, Gary Neville's Disney+ pickup, and Netflix's Rest is Football renewal as variations on the same licensing pattern, then turns to SXSW's new 2027 Podcast Festival, a midterm-driven surge in political podcast ad spend, and Cineverse's warning that CTV is coming for podcast ad dollars. Listeners will get a clear look at what these streaming and licensing deals actually cost creators, why sponsor economics are reshaping conference programming, where political podcast disclosure standards are falling short, and how networks are responding to new competitive pressure on ad revenue. - Reid frames the Martha Stewart, Rest is Football, and Stick to Football deals as one licensing pattern, drawing parallels to 1990s radio syndication and MTV-era cable deals - SXSW's dedicated podcast festival is examined as a sponsorship play rather than a cultural milestone - Audacy's MeidasTouch deal and rising political podcast listening are tied to midterm ad budgets, with a disclosure gap flagged around foreign-government sponsorship on Ted Cruz's show - Westwood One reach data shows podcasts now ahead of TV and social, even as Cineverse warns CTV is pulling ad dollars away - Patreon's discovery overhaul is discussed as a direct-monetization hedge networks can't take away Forward this episode to a colleague who needs to hear it. Tips and feedback: [email protected] 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

This week on The Download, Reid Mercer follows the money behind podcasting's fast-moving headlines. He breaks down Magellan AI's Q2 numbers showing a record ad load and a 23% jump in podcast ad spend, then questions whether iHeart's revenue surge is really a podcast story or a video business wearing a podcast label. From there, he examines a quiet change to how YouTube counts a "view" and what it means for every network's reported numbers, plus Spotify's decision to move The Ringer's "Wise Guys" onto Twitch. Reid also digs into the NFL's denial that its revived "Move the Sticks" feed was AI-generated, using it to raise bigger questions about disclosure standards across the industry. He pairs that with a look at brand-safety exposure tied to unvetted guest appearances, closing with a practical checklist networks can use to manage that risk. Listeners will come away with a clearer read on where podcast ad dollars are actually going, how measurement changes affect the numbers buyers rely on, and what steps networks should be taking now to limit exposure. - Q2 ad spend rose 23% alongside a record ad load, but iHeart's growth looks more like a video economics story than a podcast one - New targeting tools from Basis/Barometer and Cineverse are giving buyers TV-grade options as streamers compete for inventory - YouTube's redefinition of a "view" is inflating reported numbers across every network's sales materials - Spotify moving "Wise Guys" to Twitch signals weak native video traction rather than a strategic win - The NFL's AI denial and the Ben-Gvir podcast controversy point to a growing disclosure and brand-safety gap industry-wide Enjoyed the episode? Forward it to a colleague who needs to hear it. Send tips and feedback to [email protected]. 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

This week on The Download, Reid Mercer breaks down Spotify's new Premium ad-skip test, iHeartMedia's licensing deal with Disney+ and Hulu, and a wave of high-profile podcast launches from Obama, Joe Budden, and Joe Rogan. He closes with a look at July's ad-spend data and what it signals for the rest of 2026. Listeners will learn why the skip-button controversy is really a measurement problem for host-read ads, why the Disney-iHeart deal echoes 1990s cable carriage economics more than a streaming strategy, and why marquee talent may buy sales confidence without guaranteeing sustainable audience growth. Reid ties it together with market data showing where ad dollars and discovery are actually heading. - Ad tech: Spotify's skip-ahead feature exposes the lack of a verified completion metric for host-read ads, and Reid lays out three questions ad sales teams should ask before renegotiating rate cards. - Distribution: The Disney-iHeart deal looks like carriage economics, not a streaming play, with Disney renting content and an open question over who monetizes the ad inventory. - Talent: Obama's prestige podcast, Rogan's outlier economics, and Budden's true-crime pivot show marquee names buy confidence in the sales room, not proven download growth. - Market data: July ad spend points to consolidation among top advertisers, a shift in discovery toward YouTube, and Red Apple's Triton deal as a signal for mid-size publisher strategy. Forward this episode to a colleague who needs to hear it. Send tips and feedback to [email protected]. 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

Reid Mercer breaks down the 2026 Forbes highest-paid podcasters list and argues the real story isn't the paycheck but who owns the audience. From Kelce's training-camp timing to Jay Shetty's nine-figure deal and Joe Budden's independent bet, this episode follows the money through talent economics, owned distribution land grabs, and a video ad market that may not add up the way it's reported. Listeners will get a clear-eyed look at why ABC, Don Lemon, and Tony Khan are all chasing owned distribution at the same time, what's really driving the $3 billion video podcast ad figure, and why talent concentration risk sits underneath nearly every major deal in the industry right now. - Why Kelce's New Heights numbers suggest the athlete carries the audience, not the show - How the Jay Shetty deal structure reads as a margin question for executives, not just a headline number - What ABC's True Crime+ launch, Don Lemon's Libsyn deal, and Tony Khan's AEW podcast network have in common with 1990s radio consolidation - Why the $3 billion video ad spend figure hides a real measurement gap - What Tori Spelling's podcast exit and Sam Altman's AI-kids-podcast pitch reveal about single-person dependency risk Forward this to a colleague who needs to hear it. Tips and feedback: [email protected] 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678

On this episode of The Download, Reid Mercer follows four stories that all trace back to where money is moving in podcasting. He opens with Comscore's new transcript-intelligence integration across Spotify, Acast, Sirius, and Triton, stress-testing the claim that podcast ads can finally buy like CTV against past standardization promises that fell short. From there, Reid connects Podium's rebrand and the Trisha Paytas signing to a consolidation playbook straight out of 1990s radio, reads Triton's June rankings for signs of a maturing and seller-friendly market, and cuts through the Bartlett-versus-Rogan debate to explain why ad load, not rankings, is the real story. He closes with new discovery data suggesting clips now outperform the feed itself, and what that means for how networks should price inventory heading into Q4 upfronts. - Reid questions who actually captures the CPM lift from Comscore's transcript-targeting push - Podium's relaunch language sidesteps the recapitalization question that matters most - Triton's June numbers show a stalled leaderboard and fewer new-show launches, favoring sellers - True crime's shift into memoirs and franchise-built shows like The Slippery signals where margin now lives - Clip performance is outpacing full-episode discovery, raising a pricing mismatch advertisers are already flagging Forward this episode to a colleague who needs to hear it. Tips and feedback: [email protected] 📣 We Want to Hear from You! - 📝 Submit a question - 📞 Call us at (747) 234-2678