by Gavin Gaddis

Gardening update: our strawberries, broccoli, and Thai basil are thriving! Just ignore the empty section of dirt where some cilantro used to be. As our (surviving) plants grow, podcasting’s growth marches onwards as well. Let’s look at what happened this week in the business of podcasting.

During Advertising Week Europe, Sounds Profitable’s Business of Podcasting space hosted 16 panels over two days, attracting nearly 450 unique attendees. An important detail Barletta noticed, however, was the recurring trend of attendees showing up because the space was discussing podcasting. A quote from the article:

“For years, podcasting operated in a kind of productive silo. We built great things, argued about attribution, celebrated our wins, and largely talked to ourselves. It was a lot of fun. But, the industry’s biggest conversations happened at podcast-specific events, in podcast-specific publications, among people who were already convinced. That was fine. Maybe even necessary for a medium still proving itself.

But podcasting has proven itself. According to our Podcast Landscape 2025, 55% of Americans consumed a podcast in the past month. That’s not a niche. That’s mainstream media. That’s a call for bigger rooms to conquer.”

It's time for the industry to move into events and spaces that draw media decision makers including brand strategists, buyers, agency leads, and more. Barletta says the goal of Sounds Profitable remains consistent: put podcasting in the room where decisions get made, and conversations larger than podcasting happen. It’s time for podcasting to bring presence to the larger advertising space commensurate with a mainstream medium.

Sport Social Podcast Network Director of Sport Jim Salveson highlights podcasting’s power to connect with audiences, build trust, and provide flexibility unavailable in traditional broadcast media. A quote from the article:

“This isn’t about replacing live sport. It’s about extending it. Emotionally, editorially and commercially. Sport audiences now demand content that reaches beyond the final whistle and that creates an opportunity for broadcasters both editorially and commercially.”

Podcasts are opt-in, with consumers seeking out specific shows and hosts. According to Edison Research’s Sports Audio Report, 51% of general sports fans will continue following an athlete even if they’re traded to a new team. By contrast, 76% of sports podcast listeners continue to follow a traded athlete. Salveson pitches opportunities for broadcasters launching official podcasts: follow teams or players across tournaments, target younger mobile-first audiences, or create native-language content for international listeners.

One of YouTube’s newly announced features is named Stations, acting as the platform’s answer to 24/7 programming channels found on free ad-supported TV (FAST) platforms like Tubi and Pluto TV. Stations will debut with coverage of this year’s Coachella festival. YouTube’s video-focused chatbot Ask, now on desktop and mobile, is coming to smart TVs with voice control. A quote from Hale’s article:

“In an example screenshot posted by Kurt Wilms, YouTube’s Senior Director of Product Management, a viewer asks the chatbot how Nick DiGiovanni got started as a YouTuber. The bot (which runs on Google’s Gemini LLM) responds with facts about DiGiovanni’s background as a MasterChef finalist, and mentions how his first videos were filmed in his apartment.” 

In addition to Ask, YouTube announced a new system dubbed TV Companion. It will use a user’s phone to detect what is playing on their TV, allowing them to interact with comments, control playback, and “dive deeper into content without missing a beat.” 

Independent Queensland-based podcast network Mashed Pumpkin Productions launched What I Survived on February 18, 2026. In its first 47 days, it hit #31 on the U.S. Apple Podcasts overall chart, #1 in Documentary, and #4 in Society & Culture. Host and network founder Jack Laurence credits Apple Podcasts' U.S. homepage editorial feature with the chart-climbing success and over 440,000 downloads. A quote from Laurence:

“It’s honestly wild to see my show sitting amongst some serious heavy hitters in the world of US podcasting, it’s a market I’ve been trying to crack for the last four years, the fact that What I Survived is the show to do it was honestly very unexpected.” 

The show's performance is a reminder of the impact editorial features still have in podcasting; Laurence notes his show's peak had it charting alongside productions from iHeartPodcasts, Wondery, NPR, Barstool Sports, and The New York Times.

Tubefilter covers the recent acquisition of tech podcast TBPN. The Financial Times reported the deal is valued in “the low hundreds of millions of dollars.” The deal includes an “editorial independence covenant” limiting OpenAI’s editorial influence on the show’s news coverage. OpenAI has made the show ad-free. Marketecture Media founder Ari Paparo published the hot take “I’m sorry, but this deal makes no sense, financially, editorially, or strategically.” Over on X, Anthony Pompliano proposes the framing that OpenAI’s investment isn't necessarily in TBPN as a business or a show; it's an investment in the TBPN team. By letting hosts operate without the stress of ad sales, OpenAI invests in a media tool to destigmatize generative AI for broader audiences. A quote from Pompliano’s post:

“The money was merely the price it would take for the team to give up their neutral position in the ecosystem and point their talent behind a single company. OpenAI wanted the people. TBPN was just the vessel to effectuate the transaction. And the money was the market clearing price to pull off a blockbuster trade for first round draft pick talent.“

NPR is having a moment. Up First and NPR News Now climb to #3 and #4 in audio reach, while This American Life joins the top 10—giving NPR three of the most-listened-to shows this month.

Meanwhile, The Diary of a CEO with Steven Bartlett is everywhere. The show ranks across all three charts, hitting #1 in downloads per episode, jumping to #3 in monthly downloads and takes #7 in audio reach.

In per episode performance, KILL TONY and Candace take the #2 and #3 spots, showing strong listener engagement.

And one notable return: The Tucker Carlson Show re-enters the top 10, landing at #7 in monthly downloads and views.

While there may not have been space in today’s top stories, these articles are still definitely worth your time: