iHeartMedia Partners with Mammoth Media Asia to Launch Multi-Language Podcasts in $3.1B APAC Market
Webby Awards 2025 Announces Nominees: Podcasting Categories See Record Growth as Digital Creators Dominate
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iHeartMedia Enters $3.1B Asian Podcast Market with Mammoth Media Partnership
iHeartMedia and Mammoth Media Asia will launch multi-language podcasts in the fast-growing Asian market. Targeting the Asia Pacific podcast market, valued at $373.57 million in 2024 and expected to reach $3.1 billion by 2031, this expansion at a startling CAGR of 30.2% The initiative will showcase top Asian entertainers from K-pop, Bollywood, Chinese hip-hop, and beyond in music, entertainment, sports, wellness, and business categories.
The partnership brings together industry expertise from Mammoth Media Asia co-founders Jonathan Serbin (former Warner Music executive) and Jay Faires (The Wellness Agency) and iHeartMedia's podcast infrastructure. Besides creating original content, the collaboration aims to expand iHeartPodcasts' 800+ shows across Asia, giving advertisers and brands new business opportunities. This strategic move puts iHeartMedia at the forefront of one of digital audio's fastest-growing markets before the June 2025 launch.
Webby Awards 2025 Announces Nominees: Podcasting Categories See Record Growth as Digital Creators Dominate
Celebrating exceptional work across the digital sphere, the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences has unveiled the nominees for the 29th Annual Webby Awards. Notable nominees in the podcast divisions are business leaders including "Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard," "SmartLess," "The Oprah Podcast," "Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang," and "The Mel Robbins Podcast." Reflecting the growing impact of audio storytelling in digital media, these nominations cover a range including comedy, interview/talk shows, business podcasts, and material targeted on diversity and inclusion.
With record increases in podcast entries, the Webby Awards is proving to be among the most competitive and esteemed honours in the podcast field. Among the companies vying for Webby Podcast Company of the Year are Audible with 14 nominations, SiriusXM with 10, Wondergy with 9, and iHeartMedia with 8. With the People's Voice voting open until April 17, 2025, winners will be revealed on April 22, 2025, allowing supporters of their preferred podcast productions across several categories highlighting excellence in audio content creation, hosting, and production.
Hit history podcast Queens, Kings and Dastardly Things returns for Series 2!
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👍 Producer Recommendations Wanted: Share Your Podcast Insights
Even with record increase in content creation, podcast discovery remains a major industry problem. Producers, being experts in their field, have special insights that might change the way listeners identify quality content.
As a producer, suggest podcasts you routinely listen to together along with the professional relevance of each.
Your professional suggestions will help close the discovery gap between industry data showing affects on listener retention and engagement measures. Participation adds to a valuable industry resource meant to more successfully link quality content with receptive audiences than only algorithm-driven solutions.
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Why Hit Play on a Podcast? Understanding the Evolution of Listener Discovery
New research from The Canadian Podcast Listener reveals significant shifts in how listeners discover podcasts, with topic interest remaining the dominant factor while platform-specific discovery gains ground.
According to Jeff Ulster, co-publisher of the annual study, podcast apps have overtaken recommendations as the primary discovery mechanism, with YouTube edging past Spotify as the leading discovery platform for the first time in 2024.
Matt Hird, Senior Research Director at Signal Hill Insights, wrote this analysis examining the changing landscape of podcast discovery patterns.
The Key Points:
Topic interest remains the #1 driver for podcast discovery (68% of monthly listeners cite this)
"Boredom with music" has risen to become the second most common reason for trying podcasts (28%, up from 20% in 2020)
Podcast apps are now the dominant discovery method (26% in 2024, up from 16% in 2020)
YouTube has surpassed Spotify as the top discovery platform (31% vs. 30%)
Cross-platform listening is common, with 68% of YouTube podcast consumers also using audio platforms
Why It Matters
The fundamental ways listeners discover podcasts are evolving rapidly, requiring creators to adapt their distribution and marketing strategies accordingly. Understanding that potential listeners may migrate from music streaming rather than other podcasts, and that they increasingly rely on in-app discovery rather than recommendations, provides critical intelligence for podcasters seeking audience growth. As YouTube's influence continues to expand, having a comprehensive multi-platform strategy is no longer optional but essential for maximizing discoverability and audience reach.
The Big Picture
For podcasters and producers, these shifting discovery patterns necessitate a more diversified approach to content distribution and optimization.
The data suggests several actionable strategies: ensuring comprehensive metadata optimization to surface content based on topic interests; maintaining a strong presence across multiple platforms, particularly YouTube; developing video components that enhance discoverability while ensuring audio remains compelling as a standalone experience; and adapting marketing tactics to target potential listeners migrating from music streaming.
The industry benefits from understanding that discovery paths are multiplying rather than narrowing, creating both challenges and opportunities for content creators willing to meet listeners wherever they begin their podcast journey.
UniPodFest 2024: Women in Podcasting Showcase Returns to Birmingham City University This Friday. UniPodFest returns to Birmingham City University on April 4th featuring renowned women podcasters including ITV's Marverine Cole and Say Your Mind's Kelechi Okafor, alongside industry experts from BBC, Spotify, and Amazon delivering workshops and panel discussions for both novice and experienced podcast creators.
Podcast Listenership Surpasses 55% in America: Edison Research Reveals Shifting Media Consumption Patterns. Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2025 report reveals a significant shift in media consumption as podcasting reaches mainstream status with 55% of Americans aged 12+ now listening monthly, showing particularly strong growth among older demographics and becoming integrated into everyday cultural conversations.
Canadian Podcasters Setting New Standards for Social Impact Content. The Canadian podcasting landscape is demonstrating remarkable innovation in creating content for social good, establishing what could be considered a global benchmark for impactful audio storytelling. Recent productions like Trevor Campbell's satirical "Queerial" and Rachel Cairns' "Aborsh" exemplify how Canadian creators are developing sophisticated measurement frameworks for social impact through their content strategies and distribution methodologies.
Podcorn Transforms into Audacy Creator Lab: Unified Platform Merges Sponsorship Marketplace with Premium Hosting Solutions for US-Based Podcasters. Podcorn's transition to Audacy Creator Lab integrates their established sponsorship marketplace with a new hosting platform featuring unlimited storage and programmatic monetization options, now available to U.S.-based podcasters with 1,000+ monthly downloads through an application process.
Podcastle Launches Asyncflow v1.0: AI Text-to-Speech Model with 450+ Voices at Lower Cost Than Competitors. Podcastle has released Asyncflow v1.0, a new AI text-to-speech model offering over 450 AI voices at more affordable rates than competitors like ElevenLabs, alongside improved voice cloning capabilities and a developer API for integration into third-party applications.
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