| |
| These are our top stories today: - Spotify announces profitability in Q3
- Americans' trust in mass media is at an all-time low
- An interview with City Cast CEO David Plotz
Thanks for reading! Christopher
p/chris951156 | |
| 1 | | Spotify announced its third-quarter earnings this week, and revenue was up despite the projections the company was set to be in the red. Podcast advertising revenue was seen as a big reason why the company was able to be profitable in the quarter. More: - Total revenue grew 11% year-over-year, and monthly active users were up 26% to 547 million. That is 2 million more than expected.
- Spotify reported an operating income of €32M for the quarter, and the operating expenses were down 13% from this time last year.
- Subscriber numbers grew 16% YoY despite the price hike that took place earlier this year.
- While the podcasting business for Spotify is still losing the company money, CFO Paul Vogel said that they should "get to break even in podcasting pretty soon."
- Ad revenue was up 16% this quarter, as Spotify noted an increase in interest in podcast and audiobook ad spend.
|     | |
| 2 | | 
What the data says: The current level in mass media to be honest with the public matches an all-time low. Only 32% of Americans responded that they trust the media, such as newspapers, TV, and radio, "a great deal/fair amount" when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately, and fairly. That is tied with the lowest ever, which was in 2016. Since a two-year upshoot after 2016, trust has steadily declined since 2018. Relevance: Gallup released the 2023 version of its poll that has tracked how Americans feel about their trust and confidence in the media. It is a poll that has been run annually since 1972. 2016 saw the lowest rating ever, with the poll taken amidst that year's presidential campaign. The high mark was in 1976, when 72% of Americans were confident in mass media's ability to relay the news truthfully. What podcasting can do: Crooked Media CEO Lucinda Treat, speaking last week at the Advertising Week conference, said that she believes her company is uniquely positioned to be a reliable source of news. "We are unabashed about our point of view and the point of view because we think the audience needs that clarity," Treat said. "We think that trust is a two-way street. If we tell you who we are, where we're coming from, give you the information, you need to trust us back. And I think that is a big difference from where legacy media has come from and where it is moving. And that, I think, is a real differentiator for us and Crooked and for where the landscape is going." Crooked Media is the home of podcasts such as Pod Save America and Lovett or Leave It. | | | |
| |
|
| 3 | | 
Recently, we sat down with David Plotz, the CEO of City Cast and a cohost of Slate's Political Gabfest podcast. Over the course of our conversation, we discussed how his 17-year journey in podcasting came about, why he decided to start City Cast, what the future of podcasting could be, and how his life as a journalist has prepared him for his current role. Here's a sneak peek at some of the highlights: When asked about what led to the start of City Cast, David was talking with Tim O'Shaughnessy (CEO and President of The Graham Holdings Company, parent company of City Cast), and they noted all the places where audio had been successful, whether it be national, or covering different topics like science or sports, but saw there was a gap for local news coverage. "We thought maybe there's a real opportunity here, and so we've set out to fill that void and do it better and do it first." City Cast offers newsletters and podcasts specific to the cities in which it operates. "It's much less utilitarian news and more about making you feel connected to your city today." When discussing the importance of podcasts for citizens at a local level, David said, "We think of the podcast as really serving as an emotional anchor for people who are living in a city, a way for people who are living in a city to certainly be educated more about it but be educated in a way that makes them feel more deeply about it." David also spoke about the unique connection he has to fans of Political Gabfest and how it has provided some of the most profound moments of his career. "It is really humbling and wonderful to think that a conversation that you've had with two friends (cohosts Emily Bazelon and John Dickerson) that other people have been listening to has affected and changed how other people think about the world, how they live in the world, has built an emotional bridge between me and then." See the full video interview here. | | | |
| |
| 5 | | PodcastOne announced today that it has acquired the exclusive sales and distribution rights of the true-crime podcast The Opportunist. PodcastOne will also have certain ownership and IP/derivative rights for TV or film. More: - PodcastOne has acquired the rights for all 71 episodes across eight seasons that have been published so far, as well as any future episodes.
- The show focuses on "true stories of regular people who turn sinister by embracing opportunity."
- "The Opportunist is an incredible complement to our existing slate of award-winning true crime podcast programming. There is no more fitting time than now to debut the show on our network. We look forward to growing the show's existing audience," said Kit Gray, President and Co-Founder of PodcastOne.
- The Opportunist was one of the most downloaded new podcasts in 2021, according to Podtrac. It was previously distributed by Kast Media.
| | | |
| 6 | | Consortium News, an independent website, has filed suit against the United States of America and NewsGuard Technologies for claiming the podcast rating service mislabeled it for "misinformation." NewsGuard scores media outlets based on reliability and trust for the public. More: - NewsGuard started scoring podcasts in May of this year and looks at five journalistic criteria for shows.
- NewsGuard has roughly 40,000 subscribers that see the ratings for shows, podcasts, and more media outlets.
- Consortium News was given a label of "disinformation," "misinformation," and "false content." It also earned the label of "anti-U.S."
- NewsGuard labeled Consortium as such despite only flagging six articles out of tens of thousands on the site that has been publishing since 1995.
- Consortium News filed the suit, claiming that they are being censored by NewsGuard and the U.S. government, which gives funds to NewsGuard. Part of the suit reads: "NewsGuard and the United States, in violation of the First Amendment, are carrying out a governmental program under the 'Misinformation Fingerprints' contract to publicly label, target and stigmatize news organizations as disfavored, unreliable, as journalistically not responsible … where said organizations differ or dissent from U.S. policy."
| | | |
| 7 | | Quick Hits: *This is a sponsored post. | | | |
| Upcoming Events | * This is a sponsored event | | | |
Term of the Day Editorial calendar: An editorial calendar is a plan or schedule outlining which content a company intends to create, publish, and promote online Question of the Week What's one tool or app that has significantly made your life easier at work? Join the conversation |
INSIDE PODCASTING LEADERBOARD (30 DAYS) |
 | Freelance Editor | | Christopher Hachey is a freelance writer and editor based in the New York City area. He has spent most of the past 15 years in newsrooms covering all kinds of topics like sports, tech, business, finance, and commerce. He's now returning to his broadcast journalism roots by diving into podcasting news. Reach out to him at chris@inside.com | | This newsletter was edited by Aaron Crutchfield | |
| |
 | Compete Week - Competitive Intelligence Summit is back: Join top GTM leaders from Salesforce, Hubspot, Apollo and more! | |
|
| |
Comments
Post a Comment