Podcast listening ranks in the top-tier of media activities, when it comes to holding attention, as per a sneak peek from the Canadian Podcast Listener report.
More:
- 64% of the survey-takers reported a higher degree of concentration when listening to podcasts. The report described podcasting's audience as "attentive, lean-in."
- Nearly 60% of listeners said they listen to "learn something new" or "to be entertained."
- When compared to other entertainment-oriented media activities, podcasts rank the highest in the "learn something new" category.
- The complete report will be released in mid-November and will be available to subscribers only. Sign-up here.
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Multiple spot placements displayed the highest conversion rate, according to the latest Podsights Conversions Benchmark Report. Download the complete report here.
Highlights include:
- The pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll sequence had the highest average conversion rate, at 1.46%. This was followed by pre-roll and mid-roll sequence at 1.32%.
- Mid-roll placement converted higher (1.15%) than the pre-roll and post-roll sequence (0.90%).
- The report showed "average converstion rate" rising with the number of placements in an episode. One spot placement converted at 1.12% while three placements converted at 1.46%.
- When it came to Return on Ad Spend (RoAS), the pre-roll and mid-roll placement ranked highest with an RoAS of $3.56. Mid-roll RoAS was $2.48 and in last place was the pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll sequence.
- The average conversion rate for Direct to Consumer brands was higher (1.84%) than B2B (0.98%).
- Among industry conversion rates, Pop Culture ranked #1, followed by News and Politics and Sports.
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Buzzsprout now supports the <podcast:locked> element for shows on their platform. The purpose of this tag is "to tell other podcast platforms whether they are allowed to import this feed."
More:
- The tag <podcast:locked> is a part of Namespace, a new "podcast" that aims to synthesize "the fragmented world of podcast namespaces."
- Buzzsprout is working with Podfather Adam Curry's platform the Podcast Index on changes to refine the open podcast space.
- The conversation around piracy in podcasts started when Podnews reported that Anchor is hosting pirated shows, demonstrating how "easy" it is to pirate a show.
- Last week, Bryan Barletta discussed "The Solution for Privacy in Podcasting" on his newsletter Sounds Profitable.
- The last we heard from Anchor was they are "cracking down on the stolen podcasts." We covered this last month.
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Pods On the Block
- "What Does It Profit" is a new business ethics podcast, launching on Oct. 21. The show is hosted by Dr. Dawn Carpenter, a former banker turned "business ethicist" who sits down with thinkers and entrepreneurs to explore ways to "reconcile capitalism's demand for profit" with the sustainability of the people and the planet. The first season will welcome Raj Sisodia of Conscious Capitalism and Nobel Peace Laureate Jody Williams, among others. Here's the trailer.
- Lipstick & Vinyl's show for working mothers, "The Double Shift," is back for season 3. Host Katherine Goldstein and co-host Angela Garbes go into "Matriarchy Now" on the latest episode. New episodes will release bi-weekly on Wednesdays.
- "Untold Stories" is a Spotify exclusive born out of Spotify and League of Legends' partnership. Hosted by esports personalities James "Dash" Patterson, Eefje "Sjokz" Depoortere, and Gabriella "LeTigress" Devia-Allen, the show will delve into the top 10 "most iconic" moments from the last decade of the Worlds competition. A new episode will drop every Tuesday, leading up to the 10th anniversary of the tournament. Here's the first one.
- The Skin Deep has launched "Us Illuminated," a show that allows the listener to "step into the emotional space between two people as they ask and answer intimate questions." The podcast's format is the same as {THE AND}, the Emmy-award winning documentary. Here's the first episode.
- "The Super Secret Hive" is a musical adventure show, geared towards kids. Created by furloughed Disney employees Julie Frost and Mike Dombrow, the show consists of six episodes and 14 original songs. Their website also promises free activities for kids, upon request.
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Quick Hits
- The Joe Rogan Exclusive's producer "Young" Jamie Vernon tested positive for COVID-19, causing Rogan to pause the production of the show. Rogan tested negative.
- Magellan AI's Top 15 Advertisers of Sept. 2020 report is out. Online counseling platform BetterHelp continues to be #1 with Mazda coming in at #2 and home security system provider SimpliSafe at #3.
- Acast teamed up with German journalism platform ThePioneer to launch paid member-only content across all platforms.
- Curioscast has announced its line-up of fall shows. Award-winning true-crime podcast "Crime Beat," hosted by Nancy Hixt, is back for Season 3 today. Here's the latest episode.
- Vurbl.com, a new podcasting platform that will "provide creators with the tools they need to connect with larger audiences," has secured $1.3m in pre-seed funding. Investors include AlphaEdison, Halogen Ventures, and TEN13. The beta waitlist for Vurbl is open now.
- City Cast will be a new "national network of daily local podcasts." Launching in several cities, it will feature a mix of local news with "delightful perspective" of the local communities.
- With the acquisition of Stitcher by SiriusXM complete, Stitcher's podcasts have arrived on Pandora. The shows include "Freakonomics Radio," "SuperSoul Conversations with the Oprah Winfrey Network," and "Conan O'Brien Needs a Friend."
- Chargebee’s Change Summit gathers the world’s leading champions of change including Guy Kawasaki, David Cancel (Drift), and Bill Macaitis (ex Slack). Save your seat.*
*This is sponsored content.
We're hiring! Check out our available positions:
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Hey Insiders!
Two things:
- In the previous issue, I misspoke when I called The Ambies the first-ever awards for excellence in audio. Sorry about that. Thank you Neil Sandell for the correction and sharing some awards dating way back.
- Do you, or anyone you know, have an interesting independent podcast? I'm keen on hearing about it to potentially feature in the Pods On the Block section. Just hit reply and tell me all about it :)
Shreya
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Editor
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Edited by Eduardo Garcia in New York. Eduardo is writing an illustrated book about climate change that will be published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House. Bylines in The New York Times, The Guardian, Slate, Scientific American, and others. In one of his previous lives, Eduardo worked as a Reuters correspondent in Latin America for nearly a decade.
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