This Week’s Influencer: Oxford Road’s 2026 Industry Predictions; YouTube’s Dominance; The End of Podcast as We Know it?; I Miss My MTV; And More…

Happy 2026! As the New Year kicks into high gear, it’s time to dust off the crystal ball and see what it might reveal about the media landscape this year.

Will we finally get standardized measurement? Will podcasters still pick video over audio? How should you navigate a seller’s market?

Find out as we make big, bold (and accurate) predictions for 2026. All on a new Media Roundtable: Special Edition.

Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) welcomes back a stacked team of podcast nostradamuses:

• Hernan Lopez (Founder of Owl & Co & Wondery

• James Cridland (Editor, Podnews & Podcast Business Journal)

• Kyle Jelinek (VP, Client Services, Oxford Road)

• Neal Lucey (EVP, Strategy & Product, Oxford Road)

They’re talking: Audio’s Rise, Standardization (Finally!), Seller’s Markets, and more. Let’s dig in.

“ My prediction is: the buyer’s market has officially ended.” – Neal Lucey (EVP, Strategy & Product, Oxford Road)

Video Doesn’t Kill the Audio Star – Our first prediction is a move back to audio only for mid-tier podcasts. In short, the juice wasn’t worth the production squeeze for everyone. As a side prediction, video investment will increase for top shows, including in vertical podcast formats. Big opportunity for one of the major platforms to support vertical podcasts in 2026.

Measurement Standardization (Finally!) – This is the year for cross-platform standardization. We predict that 2 out of the 3 major podcast platforms will move towards standardization. Even bolder? We envision seeing some movement as early as Summer. In the meantime, if you share the dream of better measurement across all your podcast channels, keep making noise. It’s working.

Bargains in a Seller’s Market – We’re moving from a buyer’s to a seller’s market. As platforms fix measurement issues, brands will spend more and drive up prices. Two hedges against rising CPMs? 1. Lock in deals with your favorite shows early. 2. Look outside of the top 10% of podcasts. Programmatic buys on niche shows should be a strong value play in 2026.

Want more insights into what will surely be a pivotal year for the industry? Tune in to the full episode by clicking the link below.

The Classifieds

A Companion for Your Ears and Your Testing

Network: Companion Arts / Monthly Downloads: 55k

Welcome to 2026, a year for new habits, hobbies, podcasts, and more. To kick off this transformative era, we have two new networks to share, alongside some high-performing podcasts on their rosters. Our first podcast’s hosts are YouTube legends Mamrie Hart and Grace Helbig, who are intrinsically tied to comedy and food culture but have branched out into books, stand-up, and acting in recent years.
Their show is a mix of goofy banter, straight-from-the-heart moments, and constant conversations about recipes, restaurants, and all sorts of cuisine. Both figures operate under the “comfort creator” moniker and are often grouped with other LGBTQIA+ and left-leaning online voices based on content alignment. The target demo for this opportunity is chronically online millennials and self-improvement-minded women. This might get weird, or get wonderful results for Q1 testing, so click below to see additional details.

Get The Deal

We Don’t Need No Parental Guidance Here

Network: And, If / Monthly Downloads: 45k

True crime and History podcasts have a common goal: to tell a good story. Podcaster Chelsey Weber-Smith loves a good story, but they also love to find out why that story happened, who made it happen, and whether it will happen again. In that quest, American Hysteria was born, a podcast that works to understand the moral panics, urban legends, conspiracy theories, and misunderstood moments that drove normal people to their breaking point.
From the imagined horror of Bloody Mary to very real, obscure mobile game ads, Weber-Smith is fascinated by anything and everything outside the norm. The content is both well-researched and off-the-cuff, making for a great edu-tainment opportunity. Those who do well in female-skewed comedy offerings with an educational/literary foundation are highly recommended. No need for hysterics: the information you seek is available at the link below.

Get The Deal

In Case You Missed It

Pew Shares Stats on YouTube’s Dominance

A new Pew survey (5,022 adults) shows that only YouTube and Facebook reach a majority across all age groups. 80% of 18-29-year-olds use Instagram, compared with 19% of 65+. Half of 18-29-year-olds use TikTok daily, compared with 5% of 65+. Instagram is higher among Hispanic (62%), Black (54%), and Asian (58%) than White (45%). Threads, Bluesky, Truth Social at ~10% or less. This is why YouTube wins for video podcasts and creator content. Massive, cross-generational reach. Call it the Natural Law of Monopoly applied to media: audiences consolidate where scale, habit, and utility intersect.

Read More

Have Podcast Ads Jumped the Shark?

Podcast consultant Dave Jackson warns that podcast advertising may collapse like 1990s banner ads. Every major host now offers dynamic ad insertion, flooding the supply. AI farms like Inception Point accept any CPM, undercutting creators. Podcast apps let listeners skip ads entirely. Shows are stretching episodes and cramming more ads just to maintain revenue, degrading quality. He predicts a shift toward premium subscriptions. Podload is a real issue, but let’s not get hysterical. Clutter exists, 100%. However, marketers still have tools to identify high-quality shows with lighter ad loads and real engagement.

Read More

Video Killed The Video Star

MTV is not shutting down. Despite online rumors, the flagship MTV channel will continue operating. What is ending are several MTV-branded, music-only channels, which are being shut down as part of a broader network change. The move underscores how far MTV has shifted from its original music-video roots, with music programming now largely displaced by reality and entertainment content. Some of us have nostalgia for MTV music videos. But it’s not like music videos disappeared. You can still watch them anytime. YouTube or Vevo, anyone?

Read More

#SaveTheLiveReads

Call Her Safe with SimpliSafe

Alex Cooper, host of the HIT podcast Call Her Daddy, doesn’t just read this SimpliSafe ad; she turns it into a full-on “Daddy Gang” moment, effortlessly blending humor, confidence, and just the right amount of self-aware paranoia in this week’s #STLR! From her opening line, it feels like your funniest friend urgently reminding you that safety is hot, especially when it’s AI-powered. Cooper clearly and playfully explains what makes SimpliSafe different: cameras that detect threats before someone gets inside and real monitoring agents who step in even if you’re asleep, without ever sounding salesy or overwhelming.
The mental image of intruders being confronted, spotlighted, and sirened into rethinking their entire life is both hilarious and genuinely reassuring. Alex’s pacing is tight and conversational, repeating key benefits just enough to make them stick while keeping the energy silly and engaging. By the time she hits the offer, it feels organic, like she’s letting the “Daddy Gang” in on a smart little secret rather than selling them something. Alex makes home security feel fun, relatable, and undeniably on-brand, which is why she’s earned our first honor of the year!

Listen Here

Contact us for a Consultation