Podcasting is “sprinting toward” a future of targeted ads, writes Ashley Carman of Hot Pod. However, programmatic marketplaces like Spotify’s are fallible, as is most software when nuance is involved. What happens when an ExxonMobil spot slips into a science show that’s explicitly blocked the oil and gas industries?
“Ads are showing up in places they shouldn’t, signaling not so much a death knell for the effort, but more of a warning that if the trend continues, early trust between podcast networks and tech companies could fall apart,” Carman says. Host-read (and approved) ads will always be championed in podcasting for a reason.
Carman was told that manually reviewing every ad at scale is nearly impossible for some platforms. Still, she says, “in an industry famous for its close ties between advertisers, hosts, and listeners, it’s a problem.” To earn listener trust, podcasters need to at least trust the software choosing their advertisers.
NPR plans to add new shows and exclusive bonus content to its new podcast platform NPR+, reports Sara Fischer of Axios. In the second half of the year, it plans to launch an on-demand podcast bundle as a benefit of membership to local stations. The move will help bridge the gap between NPR’s radio and podcast audiences.
Joel Sucherman, NPR’s vice president for new platform partnerships, says that the podcast bundle will give local station supporters extended access to an on-demand library of podcasts and digital content, similar to the on-demand service from PBS, ‘PBS Passport.’ Back in April, Sucherman explained early plans to Hot Pod.
“Our goal, ultimately, is to lift all boats to make sure NPR podcasts are supporting member stations more than they ever have before,” he said at the time. The organization relies on revenue via affiliate fees from radio station membership, and pulling in a younger generation of digital-first listeners may be a solution.
With Buzzsprout, it’s faster than ever to keep your podcast fresh — and your listeners up-to-date. The Dynamic Content tool lets you easily add and remove short pre-roll (intro) and post-roll (outro) content to your episodes. It's the perfect solution for timely messaging.
Whether you’re promoting a virtual event or giving a special shout-out, Dynamic Content makes it simple to swap, automatically add content to new episodes, or apply it to your existing catalog with a click. Old files are removed and replaced, so there’s no clean-up.
This innovative feature offers more than flexibility. It benefits your audience in more ways than one: Buzzsprout respects your listeners’ privacy. Unlike most Dynamic Ad Insertion, the Dynamic Content tool includes no tracking or targeting. Ready to make the switch?
The first step is almost always the same, which is to instill confidence in the…
Podcasting is an infinite game—we play in order to keep playing.
It’s better to be good and liked than to be the best and have nowhere…
We’ve had a busy few weeks since Evolutions wrapped up! This week, we're sharing the…
Experience + continued training = a great end product.