Attention Chief Audio Officers! We’re back with a very special episode of the Media Roundtable.

Dan Granger (Oxford Road Founder & CEO) is hosting, joined by audio heavyweight Bryan Barletta, (Partner & Founder at Sounds Profitable) and Oxford Road’s newest Agent of Influence Nathan Aminian (EVP of Operations, Oxford Road). 

We’re talking about what Joe Rogan’s new $250M Spotify deal means for podcasting, and an even bigger deal–Nathan joining us at Oxford Road. Let’s dig in.

“You get to a size where there’s a lot more downside in taking on a risk of switching (attribution) partners than upside.”

– Dan Granger, Oxford Road Founder & CEO

A Quarter Billion and Non-Exclusivity Rogan and Spotify make it official–the walls are coming down. So much to sift through but in no particular order:

  1. If Rogan were an athlete, it’d be the 35th biggest contract ever (Sorry, Steph).
  2. A new age of big deals for big podcasters (not just big stars) is upon us.
  3. A bigger market with an ad rev-share could mean Spotify feels good about non-exclusivity and getting a piece of that sweet YouTube simulcast revenue.
  4. CAOs, ride those coattails. If the JRE is out of your budget, book spots on the shows of JRE guests–they get a whopping 47% bump in engagement–bonus impressions!

Oxford Road’s Big Hire – If you’ve been in the audio space, odds are you’ve felt the impact of Nathan Aminian’s analytics leadership at some point. As we announced last week, Nathan recently joined Oxford Road as our new EVP of Operations and he’s already making things happen (in the greatest possible way). We live and die by our data but despite the fact that audio is not in short supply of options that promise an attribution silver-bullet, nothing is perfect (Bryan Barletta’s big compliment to Oxford Road: “I don’t know if I’ve heard of a vendor that you haven’t worked with or have a perspective on.”) With Nathan, Oxford Road is taking a huge leap in our abilities to integrate disparate sources of information together, while lowering dependencies on third-party vendors. Ultimately, we’ll achieve a level of trust and truth that’ll help all of our CAOs make better decisions. Hard not to get excited about that.

As always, for audio insights you won’t get anywhere else, tune in to the full episode by clicking the link below.

Watch Here

Listen Here: Spotify

Listen Here: Apple

Categories

array(1) { [0]=> object(WP_Term)#2497 (16) { ["term_id"]=> int(4) ["name"]=> string(7) "Podcast" ["slug"]=> string(7) "podcast" ["term_group"]=> int(0) ["term_taxonomy_id"]=> int(4) ["taxonomy"]=> string(8) "category" ["description"]=> string(0) "" ["parent"]=> int(0) ["count"]=> int(240) ["filter"]=> string(3) "raw" ["cat_ID"]=> int(4) ["category_count"]=> int(240) ["category_description"]=> string(0) "" ["cat_name"]=> string(7) "Podcast" ["category_nicename"]=> string(7) "podcast" ["category_parent"]=> int(0) } } Podcast

You May Also Like

The Rise of Faith-Based Podcasts with the Hosts of Girls Gone Bible

What’s one podcast genre that’s successful for advertisers but is often overlooked?

Find out in a creator spotlight episode of Media Roundtable: Special Edition.

Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) welcomes the co-hosts of the hit, faith-based podcast Girls Gone BibleAngela Halili Arielle Reitsma.

They’re talking: A Meteoric Rise, Brand Love, and Marketing with Faith. Let’s dig in.

“There’s no dollar amount that’s worth doing anything that goes against our core mission.” – Angela Halili (Co-Host, Girls Gone Bible)

By Popular Demand – Video had a large part in creating these podcast stars. After a messy first episode, Arielle and Angela decided not to scrap the whole recording. Instead, they released some of the best clips, which promptly blew up with 20M views. The unfiltered rawness on display connected with their audience and fueled a subsequent meteoric rise. Clips can reveal what audiences want. Podcasts are where creators deliver.

Only Promote What You Love – You know when hosts phone in the ads? Not on GGB. Arielle and Angela are so protective of their audience that they pick brands they love enough to promote them. This should be a must for your campaigns: work with engaged hosts. They’re the creators who maintain the highest audience trust.

Marketing with Faith – Recent ORBIT insights showed that the Faith genre is a strong performer, but lags in investment. Brands are growing more comfortable supporting faith-based shows, but some hesitations prevent further investment. That means there’s a fantastic opportunity for smart brands to invest before the market catches on.

Want more insights into an overlooked, overperforming part of the industry? Tune in to the full episode by clicking any of the links below.

Rethinking Youtube Podcasts: Does video beat audio for ROI?

Does video perform better than audio? That is a question the market has been trying to answer for years, especially now that many podcasts feature video.

The industry has pivoted hard to video. It offers massive scale and new discovery opportunities. But for years, we’ve operated inside a measurement “black box,” forcing marketers to assume that a YouTube view is worth the same as a podcast download.

We now know that assumption is potentially costing brands millions.

In this Media Roundtable: Special Edition,  Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy & Insights, Oxford Road) welcomes Pete Birsinger (CEO & Founder, Podscribe) to reveal the results of our industry-first report, “Re-Thinking YouTube: Why Your YouTube Ads Are Converting 25% Worse Than Audio.” After analyzing over 1,000 campaigns across 100+ brands, the data has revealed a shocking performance gap.

“The biggest unlocker of revenue is some way to measure the host-read embedded ads on YouTube.” – Pete Birsinger (CEO & Founder, Podscribe)

Pete and Giles are talking: The Black Box, Smart Methodology, and Lean-In Audiences.

2025 in Review: Video Won, Measurement Broke, and 210 Million People Are Listening

Video podcast wars, reaching critical masses, or radio’s reckoning… or reinvention: what was the biggest story of 2025, and how will it shape 2026?

Find out as we look back on all the major news stories of 2025 in a new Media Roundtable: Industry Edition.

Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) breaks down the stories that shaped the year with fellow audio luminaries:

The team is talking: Video Everything, Critical Mass, and Radio’s Next Act. Let’s dig in.

“ Video is definitely the big story for 2025.” – Neal Lucey (EVP, Strategy & Product, Oxford Road)

Video Podcast Wars – While YouTube still holds the crown, Spotify and Netflix came for it in 2025. We don’t know who will rule video next year (okay, probably still YouTube), but advertisers can’t ignore the video part of podcasts. Measurement is messier, but 100% doable. It’s time to get off the sidelines, and for the industry, we need to count impressions the same way. No more random combinations of views/downloads/instant plays/vibes. Standardize measurements to create confidence and growth.

Critical Mass – 73% of Americans have consumed a podcast. This is proof that our little industry’s all grown up. But James says the important number is 773, as in 773 million podcast hours consumed each week. Going from 73% to 100% is harder and less fruitful than increasing consumption. In 2026, industry expansion will come from both deepening relationships with existing deals, while expanding reach.

Radio’s Reckoning – Radio remains a contradiction. It’s still shrinking (~1% a year), and it’s still big (74% of audio use in cars). It has a massive reach, but the median age is ~59. This year saw Nielsen juicing ratings, local radio scoring in trust, and Tesla planning to drop FM from lower-priced models. Still, we think Radio is more overlooked than overrated, making it a smart channel for advertisers to invest in.

Want more insights from what was a wild year for the industry? Tune in to the full episode by clicking the link below.

george costanza