by Gavin Gaddis
Speakeasy, Red Seat Ventures' new owned-and-operated podcast hosting platform, serves as a hub for creators with monetization, hosting, and content distribution in one place. The platform supports “the full range of modern formats from RSS to HLS and video.” In Ashley Carman’s issue of Soundbite covering the announcement, Red Seat Ventures CEO Chris Balfe highlights the complicated nature of modern podcast distribution beyond the traditional RSS feed. One content hub attracts future creator partners and eliminates payments to third-party hosts for ad placement.
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. 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.
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.
Podnews reports the TuneIn broadcaster portal, closed since February 2024, has reopened. This follows the acquisition of TuneIn by Stingray Group back in November 2025. Podnews notes that TuneIn’s podcast directory remains the default path to getting podcasts in Tesla cars and on Sonos speakers, in addition to other platforms.
Spotify’s new report, developed with Bold Insight, includes a survey of 5,000 audio-app consumers in five markets and 105 media planners and buyers from 12 markets. 86% of Spotify users report they silence videos on other platforms to listen to music, podcasts, or audiobooks instead. 75% of consumers report they typically remember the audio content they listen to (10% higher than social media content). Spotify positions itself, and by extension audio advertising in general, as the place brand voices are heard, not just seen and skipped.
…as for the rest of the news:
Libsyn and Buzzsprout have signed up with Apple Podcasts to distribute video podcasts using Apple Podcasts HLS.
Oxford Road SVP, Media Miranda Romano has a new LinkedIn article arguing the creator ecosystem is a marketing funnel, and why podcasting needs to sell it like one. [Editor’s note: This link will only work if you’re logged into LinkedIn]
YouTube’s annual Brandcast presentation is slated for May 13, 2026 at the Lincoln Center, with comedian and podcaster Trevor Noah set to host.
AdsWizz Senior Manager, Sales Marketing Aimi Knowling has published three key takeaways from her time at SXSW and Podcast Movement Evolutions 2026.
Podscribe has published the March edition of its industry ranker, including NPR climbing the charts for top podcasts by audio reach to have Up First and NPR News Now at #3 and #4 respectively.
Audacy has a new Insight on why audio has a big opportunity in targeting baseball fans.
A new episode of the Scalable podcast features guest Luka Dukich, vice president of content marketing for the Chicago Bulls.
