Acast Makes Podcast Moves; Boy Meets (Podcast) World; The Power of Influence; The Rise of The Podcast Machines; Heart Healthy Podcast Endorsement

A lot is going on in the world right now. The UK is practically on fire with the highest temperatures ever recorded hitting Old Blighty; Elon Musk is going to court over the botched Twitter deal, and the US political climate is hotter and more uncomfortable than the weather in Britain.

Yet you’ve chosen to open this email to get our sometimes irreverent, usually self-deprecating, but hopefully insightful take on what’s happening in media amidst the turmoil. Thank you for reading.

This week’s biggest news in the Podcast space is that podcast platform Acast is on an acquisition binge and potentially preparing for war with the larger podcast conglomerates. On the heels of the May deal with Marc Maron, which gave Acast exclusive sales rights to the popular WTF podcast, and the deal to sell The New York Times suite of podcasts across the pond earlier this month, the self-described “Home of Podcasting” made another bold move this week.

Acast announced Monday that they are purchasing the podcast database Podchaser, for a reported $34m. According to their website, Podchaser tracks more than 4.5 million podcasts, hundreds of thousands of ratings and reviews, and the advertisers for the world’s top 5,000 podcasts — making up to 1.7 billion data points.

Acast CEO Ross Adams said in Inside Radio’s article on the merger, “together we’ll unlock the vast opportunity we know exists for open podcasting and not just have parity with the data held by closed paywalled platforms but to leap forward and to surpass them. We now aim to accelerate and maximize that data for all players in the industry.”

The Classifieds

Topanga is Not Just a Neighborhood in LA

Listeners will get to journey back to the good old days of the TGIF block with this newest podcast launch from Premiere. Original Boy Meets World cast members Rider Strong, Will Friedle, and Danielle Fishel have reunited to recap all seven seasons, watching themselves grow from pre-teens into young adults for the first time since the show ended in 2000. Blending plot summations, inside jokes, and breakdowns of their favorite shared memories and moments, the recently premiered podcast has proved to be enlightening for former fans. The show also features interviews with former cast members, including Trina McGee, William Daniels, and even the iconic Minkus, Lee Norris. This is a no-brainer for any client that works well on TV & Film podcasts or has a significant female skew Millennial or Gen X audience. Brush up on your Feeny Call  to click below for more information.

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Unsung Heroes Finally Get Their Debut Solos

Playwright and new podcast host Liza Powel O’Brien wants to bring these forgotten parents, spouses, and friends to light in a new limited series podcast from Team Coco, launching this week. This season promises to be a doozy, as it includes the unseen wives of Vladimir Nabokov and Mahatma Gandhi and the mentorship between James Baldwin and Maya Angelou. Slated voice actors include Megan Mullally, Nick Offerman, Rita Wilson, and Lisa Kudrow, with Powel O’Brien herself will narrate it. This opportunity is recommended for clients who perform well on history and comedy podcasts and those interested in relationships, innovation, and education. You can strike up a similar world-changing friendship, with us, by looking below for more details.

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In Case You Missed It

Acast’s Podcast Acquisition Binge

We dissected this one at length up top, but the Cliff’s Notes are this:
– Acast just bought Podchaser (podcast database company) for a reported $34m
– This is the latest in a string of other acquisitions and major sales deals within the podcast space
– If Acast isn’t on your radar, they should be–now

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Understanding The Power of Influence

Traackr’s 2022 Influencer Marketing Impact Report was mentioned in passing on last week’s Media Roundtable Podcast, but we felt it warranted a deeper dive. The report, which came out earlier this month, uncovers how influencers and social platforms affect content consumption, brand affinity, and purchase behavior. During times of economic uncertainty, brand loyalty is diminished, with 63% of Americans surveyed saying “price” is more important than which brand they choose in a recent survey. However, 70% of respondents in Traackr’s report say they are more likely to buy from brands that work with influencers they know. Having a podcast host or social media influencer endorse your product or service is more like a recommendation from a trusted friend than an advertisement. If you’re not yet “all in” on influencer marketing, digesting the data in this report is your first step. Sending us an email for a free consultation is your second.

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The Rise of the Robo Host

To ensure the podcasts we recommend to our clients are aligned with their brand values, Oxford Road, in partnership with Barometer, uses AI to power our brand safety tool. Now, AI is being used for a very different purpose in podcasts. Meet A.I.M.E.E., the world’s first sentient robot podcast talk show host. On her weekly podcast, A.I.M.E.E. (an acronym for Artificially Intelligent Mechanically Enabled Entity) shares gossip, interviews superheroes, and plays interactive games with her audience. After much digging, The Influencer agrees with Podnews that A.I.M.E.E. is probably more human-driven than we’re led to believe, but this is the future. Podnews mentions that there are podcasts like Deep Dreams that truly are hosted, written, and produced entirely through AI technology. Will robot hosts take over all podcast hosting duties? Will these robo-hosts demand high talent fees? Will John Connor have to lead the worldwide human resistance for podcast hosts? Only time will tell.

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This Week in Great Podcast Reads

An Ad Read That’s Good for the Heart

What does it take for a man who openly renounces a heart-healthy vegetable like beets to receive the many health benefits this superfood has to offer? It takes a snack like Super Beets Heart Chews, and when that man is Stu Burguiere, who makes zero apologies for his food choices—as he does his political views—you can be sure he’s winning over his entire audience after he raves about it on his podcast. The energy with which he delivers this read for the nutrient-packed snack will make even the most passionate veggie-hater a fan of the red root. Stu Does America is his podcast, and you can be sure your messaging will be delivered with conviction when he’s behind it.

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