🎙This week in Podwires : Steven Bartlett dethrones Joe Rogan in the UK as self-improvement podcasts capture 25% of the top listening.
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Today’s reading time is 5 minutes. - Miko Santos (7 December 2025)
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We have been fortunate enough to receive a number of press releases from our podcasting friends in the industry. Here, we present some of the latest news, announcements and events that have been shared with us.
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Steven Bartlett dethrones Joe Rogan in UK as self-improvement podcasts capture 25% of top listening
Spotify dropped their 2025 Wrapped data, and the podcasting industry is treating platform-specific charts like they’re Nielsen ratings. Steven Bartlett’s The Diary of a CEO dethroned Joe Rogan in the UK for the first time, self-improvement content captured over 25% of UK Top 50 listening, and Taylor Swift’s New Heights appearance became “one of audio’s biggest stories of 2025.”
But here’s the part nobody’s saying out loud: these aren’t industry charts. They’re Spotify charts. When one platform controls 700 million listeners and defines cultural moments through proprietary data releases, “the UK’s favorite podcast” really means “the UK’s favorite podcast that Spotify’s algorithm surfaced most effectively.” Let that sink in.
Spotify Wrapped hits 200M users in record time, signals platform's grip on podcast discovery
Spotify just dropped their Wrapped numbers, and the podcast industry is celebrating platform dominance like it’s a victory for creators. 200 million engaged users in the first 24 hours – a 19% year-over-year jump that makes this the fastest Wrapped ever to hit that milestone.
But here’s what nobody’s saying out loud: when one platform controls the narrative of an entire year in podcasting, that’s not just impressive data. That’s a warning shot.
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The world's biggest podcast festival Crossed Wires announces first wave of acts for July 2026
Crossed Wires podcast festival reveals the first wave of acts for 2026, plus expanded Fringe from BBC Sounds and BBC Radio 4, for its exciting move to a four-day event.
After doubling footfall in its second year, Crossed Wires will curate an extra day of events and activities for 2026, running from Thursday 2nd - Sunday 5th July in Sheffield. It will see 35,000 people descend on the city, further cementing Crossed Wires as officially the biggest podcast festival in the world.
Dr. Laurie Santos and The Happiness Lab Podcast Unveil “Pods Fight Poverty” on Giving Tuesday
The Happiness Lab podcast’s Dr. Laurie Santos has announced today the launch of “Pods Fight Poverty,” a groundbreaking campaign to lift three villages in Rwanda out of extreme poverty. In collaboration with dozens of other podcast hosts and platforms, the Pods Fight Poverty campaign will use its reach and influence with listeners to raise funds for hundreds of families in need.
The campaign will kick off December 2, timed for Giving Tuesday, which is a global holiday aimed at encouraging everyone to support their favorite charities and non-profits.
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PodcastOne and Dr. Phil’s Envoy Media Co. Join Forces To Launch New Content Network
LiveOne (NASDAQ: LVO) announced today that its subsidiary PodcastOne (NASDAQ: PODC) and Dr. Phil’s Envoy Media Co. have partnered to launch a co-branded multi-platform podcast network. The networks’ multiple original and owned content lineup debuts later this month with an all-new daily Dr. Phil Podcast to millions of global digital listeners, distributed across Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube, iHeartRadio, Amazon Music, PodcastOne, as well as LiveOne’s streaming video network.
In addition, all new Envoy podcast content will be broadcast on the company’s national TV networks. These include subscription-based Envoy TV, via Charter/Spectrum Cable in 41 top US markets (e.g. New York, Los Angeles, Dallas, etc.), on national VMVPD Frndly TV, and to over 110 million homes-connected devices via Envoy FAST. The free streaming network premiered last month on national providers Samsung TV Plus, Local Now and Vidaa (on Hisense TV).
Beloved Basketball Podcast The Old Man and The Three Returns with Denver Nuggets Dynamic Forward Cam Johnson Joining Tommy Alter as New Host
Today, the hit basketball podcast The Old Man and The Three returns with new host and current NBA player Cameron “Cam” Johnson, the forward for the Denver Nuggets, who joins Tommy Alter.
Every Tuesday, Cam and Tommy will continue to provide insightful analysis of NBA games and major topics within NBA culture. They’ll dive into the mechanics of the sport, discussing skills, strategy, and execution from an active player’s perspective, to give basketball fans a deeper understanding of the game, while keeping it accessible for casual fans as well as “NBA sickos.”
Sir Mo Farah backs migration bid of man whose identity he was given to come to the UK
A landmark Daily Mail investigation and new three-part podcast series, The Other Mo Farah, reveal the story of the real Mohamed Farah – the child whose name, birth place and birth day were used when Sir Mo Farah was brought to the UK in 1993.
This is the first time Mohamed has spoken publicly about the decades that followed: years marked by poverty, instability and danger. His voice was largely absent from the BAFTA-winning 2022 documentary in which Sir Mo revealed he had travelled to the UK on another boy’s visa; The Other Mo Farah gives that boy – now a 42-year-old man – the opportunity to tell his account in full.
Acast UK Launches Industry-First YouTube Program: Creates UK's Largest Premium Audio and Video Podcast Offering
Acast, the world’s largest independent podcast company, is launching the UK’s biggest premium audio and video podcast offering, delivering a dramatically enhanced video proposition on YouTube.
The new program and partnership with Little Dot Studios - leading social media agency, digital media network, and multi-platform production company providing the YouTube infrastructure, growth support and scaled ad inventory - is built in direct response to podcaster needs. It will allow Acast’s UK creators - including top-tier podcasting talent like Fearne Cotton, Jake Humphrey, and Peter Crouch - to unlock significant new revenue streams, as well as growth for their video podcasts on YouTube via a dedicated accelerator program developed by Little Dot Studios. Advertisers will be able to directly access those high-value audiences via premium and brand-safe video sponsorships and targeted video ads.
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