Podcast Movement 🔜 SXSW, The Big Picture of Apple Podcasts HLS, & More

Author

Gavin Gaddis
March 13th, 2026

by Gavin Gaddis

Good morning from Texas! As you receive this, I’m gathering my gear to head on over to Podcast Movement Evolutions and hang out with the business of podcasting all day. Before that, though, let’s look at the week’s news.

Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW Kicks off Today!

Podcasting has descended on SXSW 2026. Today, Saturday, and Sunday Podcast Movement Evolutions has taken over SKYBOX on 6th! No SXSW badge required, no extra ticket. The only limitation is space with a 400 person capacity plus an overflow space with room for 350+ more. SXSW badge holders do get priority access. Registration is still live, and encouraged. In addition to the curated panels, networking events, and keynotes, this year features several live performances. Tonight starting at 6:00 p.m. the main stage will be taken over by live tapings of Table Read, Scalable Podcast, and Broken Record with special guest Maya Hawke. Tomorrow night Companion will be celebrating the spirit of their podcast slate with Companion Presents: In Good Company. Starting at 7:00 p.m., the night will feature live performances fitting the tone of their shows. There’ll be a conversation with actor Penn Badgley, performances from Ayana Butterfly, JJ & The Mood, and a headliner set from artist Andy Grammer. You can find the full Podcast Movement Evolutions schedule here.

Last month Apple announced HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) distribution is coming to Apple Podcasts. Acast, Amazon’s ART19, Triton Digital's Omny Studio, and SiriusXM Media (including AdsWizz and Simplecast) have all been announced as launch partners for Apple Podcasts HLS distribution. 

Sounds Profitable founder Bryan Barletta zooms out from the technical specifics of the announcement to look at what this means for the industry. Apple bringing HLS to Apple Podcasts doesn’t just impact podcasting. Typically, companies implement HLS internally, owning both hosting and receiving apps. The Apple Podcasts implementation connects a publicly-available app to multiple distribution hubs. This puts control back in the hands of hosting platforms. Control that felt like it might be slipping away from podcasting in recent years. A quote from Barletta:

“This announcement changes a downward spiral of ownership that many of us didn’t believe could be reversed. So let’s buy into it in whatever way we can, and see just how far we can take this momentum.”

Apple’s HLS announcement for Apple Podcasts also opens the door to external uses across industries. What does the world look like if a big multimedia publisher like Sony wants to use HLS to distribute their music out to Apple Music, Spotify, and YouTube Music? Or their movies to Netflix, HBO Max, and Disney+? Podcasting should ask not 'Who watches video on Apple Podcasts?' but: How many creators and rights holders across industries will adopt RSS-inspired HLS?

Woost, curious about the average listener retention and how it impacts podcast ads, presents data calculated from over 100,000 podcast episodes. On average, audiences on Apple Podcasts and Spotify complete 76% of a podcast episode. A quote from the article:

“This blended average is impressive, but it hides details. Strong episodes pull the average up, while weaker episodes drag the average down. The standard deviation is quite high, which means individual episode performance is highly variable. There’s no guarantee a specific episode will perform anywhere near the average. Ad buyers should take care to not be misled.”

When zoomed out, the data shows a correlation between episode length and average listen-time. Episodes lasting 30 minutes or less average 85% Listen Time, 30-60 minute episodes average 83%, and 60+ minutes average 65%. Woost argues publishers should share Listen Time statistics more often with advertisers to demonstrate audience loyalty and editorial quality. Advertisers should request Listen Time numbers to plan effective campaigns.

Acast has published a new Singapore edition of Podcast Pulse, finding 97% of Singaporean podcast listeners say a podcast has changed their mind about a topic. By comparison, the global median is 84%. 52% of local listeners now rate podcasters more credible than journalists (50%) and Youtubers (48%). The study also notes that podcasters lead significantly on honesty (69% vs. 31%) and trustworthiness (64% vs. 36%) compared to social-first talent. Commercially, 69% of listeners have considered a brand for the first time because of a podcast and 67% have made a purchase after a host recommendation. 

Acast frames this data as a wake-up call to traditional marketing methods that favor broad reach over pursuing deeper connections with specific audiences. A quote from Acast CEO Greg Glenday:

“This data from Singapore is a wake-up call for the entire media industry. When brands consider podcasts as a content channel, they are looking at the most powerful persuasion engine in the marketing mix. Singapore provides the blueprint for how brands can stop renting fleeting attention on social, and start earning unrivaled trust in podcasting.”

Update your calendars! Submissions to Voxtopica’s The Timbre Awards, which opened February 2nd, has updated a few key dates. The discounted submission fee period has now been extended to March 20. The full-price final submission deadline is April 17, with judging taking place from April to June and winners announced June 15. 

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Quick Hits

While they may not be top story material, the articles below from this week are definitely worth your time: