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Five key developments shaping digital audio landscape
Acast Unveils UK’s Biggest Premium Podcast Video Play With Little Dot Studios Partnership
Acast—the world’s largest independent podcast company—launched Monday the UK’s biggest premium audio and video podcast offering, partnering with Little Dot Studios to transform how creators monetize YouTube. Over 20 of the UK’s most commercially successful podcasts, including shows from Fearne Cotton, Peter Crouch, and Jake Humphrey, will now access premium, dynamic, targeted video ads on YouTube as a new revenue stream. The combined shows deliver 45 million monthly plays across audio feeds and YouTube channels.
Here’s the thing: Acast is believed to be the first podcast monetization company in the UK to enable premium programmatic video ads on YouTube—not just pre-roll, but sophisticated targeting that unlocks significantly higher CPMs. Josh Woodhouse, Acast’s UK Managing Director, said Monday the company now reaches “8 out of 10 podcast fans weekly in the UK.” The beta launches in January for select UK creators, where Acast already commands roughly 60% of podcasting ad spend. Translation? If you’re a UK podcaster not in this program, you’re watching money walk out the door.
Dr. Phil Builds Podcast Network That Actually Airs on Television. Yes, Really.
Dr. Phil McGraw is launching a multi-platform podcast network in partnership with PodcastOne—but here’s where it gets interesting: the content doesn’t just live as podcasts. It broadcasts on his national TV networks, including subscription-based Envoy TV and the new Envoy FAST channel that launched last month on Samsung TV Plus, reaching 110 million home-connected devices. The network debuts later this month with an all-new daily “Dr. Phil Podcast” plus true crime content and shows from the PodcastOne roster, including Adam Carolla and Jordan Harbinger.
This is basically the reverse of every media strategy we’ve seen for the past decade. Instead of TV shows becoming podcasts, podcasts are becoming TV shows. LiveOne CEO Rob Ellin called Dr. Phil Monday “one of the very few true media icons” whose work “helped shape this still fast expanding business.” McGraw brings 27 million social media followers to the table. Will this model work? Well, if anyone can convince people to watch podcast content on their TV, it’s probably the guy who convinced millions to watch him resolve family disputes for two decades.
Spotify Deepens Adform Partnership, Makes Programmatic Podcast Buying Even Easier
Spotify is deepening its partnership with global ad platform Adform, adding direct integration into the Spotify Ad Exchange that launched in April. Advertisers can now plan and activate campaigns directly within Adform’s platform, accessing Spotify’s audio, video, and display formats—including podcast inventory that was added to the exchange in July. The companies announced Monday the integration gives advertisers “quicker audio activations at lower cost” while making it easier to reach Spotify’s massive user base at scale.
Brian Berner, Spotify’s Global Co-Head of Advertising, said the expanded partnership gives “advertisers more flexibility and control to connect with the millions of Spotify fans who tune in every day.” The proof this is working? Spotify said this summer it saw a 64% increase in the number of advertisers using the exchange since its April debut. That’s significant momentum in a market projected to hit $4.46 billion in podcast ad spending this year. The message is clear: programmatic is no longer the future of podcast advertising—it’s the present.
Audiencelift’s New API Promises to Automate Podcast Growth at Scale
Audiencelift unveiled Monday a new API that promises to “revolutionise how creators, networks, and agencies manage and scale audience-building initiatives.” The integration lets podcast hosting platforms, networks, and production companies embed Audiencelift’s growth engine directly into their own dashboards, allowing programmatic campaign creation with real-time analytics on reach, conversions, audience characteristics, and growth velocity. Marketing agencies managing multiple podcasts or YouTube channels can now launch and monitor campaigns at scale using AI-driven automation.
Robert Tuchman, Co-Founder of Amaze Media Labs, said Monday the goal “has always been to give podcast creators the opportunity for their content to be discovered and to make audience growth predictable and repeatable.” The system supports flexible campaign configuration for both audio podcasts and YouTube, with audience targeting, budget controls, and secure authentication. Enterprise clients can run hundreds of campaigns simultaneously. Translation? If you’re still manually launching growth campaigns one by one, you’re already behind.
Sony Launches True Crime Podcast on 2011 Surveillance Murder Case
Sony Music Entertainment launched Monday a new true crime podcast series revisiting the 2011 death of Dominique “Nique” Leili. “Watching You,” hosted by storyteller Jonathan Hirsch, examines the disturbing surveillance that shaped Nique’s final months before she was found dead in woodland near her suburban Georgia home in July 2011. The investigation revealed her husband Matt had been secretly monitoring the household for years through hidden cameras placed throughout the property.
The series features never-before-released audio from thousands of those recordings, along with interviews with all three of Nique’s daughters and her sister. Hirsch called it Monday “a story of an obsession with the darkest outcome possible,” adding “She was stalked and manipulated in her home, a place that should feel the most safe.” Fair warning—this one gets graphic. “Watching You” is available across major podcast platforms, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Stitcher, with all episodes also available on The Binge for subscribers.
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