Sponsored by Beamly. Still renting your listeners? Own your members, content and income with Beamly - 0% platform fees and no lock‑in. Start free today
- 64% of the hosts of the most popular US podcasts of 2024 were men - and the top shows are significantly less diverse than the top movies, TV or music, a report from USC Annenberg’s Inclusion Initiative says. Shows with video are more likely to have male hosts; the worst gender balance is with business and technology podcasts, where men host 92% of shows. Women-hosted podcasts are more than twice as likely to have female guests - but even so, guests on women-hosted podcasts are still 54% male. The document describes the lack of non-white hosts as “woeful”.
- The study notes that true crime shows are most likely to be hosted by women - who host 53% of the top shows. That good news is slightly blunted by the fact that these shows are the least diverse at 90% white, and, of course, “stories focus on grisly acts often committed against women”.
- Podcast Movement will be free to attend this March, at SXSW in Austin TX, it’s been announced in Sounds Profitable; with details of a new format, and the event’s values. “If you loved the hotel-based format of Podcast Movement, 2026 is going to feel like a departure,” says Bryan Barletta. The piece also outlines the event’s approach to diversity. (Podnews has a 50% business partnership with Podcast Movement).
- Spotify’s Megaphone has renewed its IAB Podcast Measurement Guidelines Certification. The company was already on v2.2; the new certification was added to the IAB’s website yesterday. Parent company Spotify abruptly pulled all IAB certification in April last year; only to change its mind two months later.
> > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.
Classifieds - your job or ad here
- Book Some Time with John Wordock — Hope to end 2025 strong? 20-year pro John Wordock lives where content strategy meets audience and revenue. He works with everyone, from networks to newbies. So book a confidential meeting today.
- 🎧 Grow Your Podcast On Player FM — Player.FM’s new self-serve ad portal can help you grow your show, boost engagement, and drive downloads with flexible pricing. Book your next campaign now!
- Podcast Guesting UnSummit FREE Event Nov 18/19 — Join 10 experts for 10 live mini-workshops + 10 free resources. Walk away with your podcast guesting strategy done—bio, pitch, system, stories, promo & more... Less watching. More doing.
Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Mamamia, PodMatch, The $100 MBA, Sounds Profitable, The Podglomerate, Cloud10, Steve Lack: Audio, Resound, Simplecast, SALT, PAVE Studios, RedCircle, Cohost, audioBoom, Audiohook, Podscribe, Riverside.fm, Jar Podcast Solutions, Podchaser, Awesound, Disctopia, We Edit Podcasts, Podpage websites, Knucklehead Media Group, Acast, Evergreen Podcasts
Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, Jonekiri, Gumball, Red Seat Ventures, Podium , Castbox, POW PR, Huberman Lab, Voxtopica, Frequency, The Podcast Haven, PodAnalyst, Ausha, SoundStack, Truefans, Gilded Audio, Compliance Podcast Network, Ask Ralph Christian Finance, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Storyboard, The Roost, Tink Media, Beamly, Message Heard, Health Podcast Network, Jam Street Media, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Ossa Collective, Rhapsody Voices, Podcast Taxi, Wondery, Oxford Road, Heartcast Media50, Castos, Rephonic, Diversion Podcasts, Optimal Living Daily, Transistor, Zvook, Double Elvis Productions, Blubrry, Lemonada Media, Headliner, matchmaker.fm, Content10x, Podcast Partnership, Ad Results Media, StreamGuys, Hear.Here.Singapore, She Podcasts, Cleanfeed, Lower Street, School of Podcasting, Podcast Movement, Adopter Media, Revolver Podcasts, Podigy, Sonix, Signal Hill Insights, Edison Research
Our supporters pay for Podnews, so everyone can read it. Join them today.
Image: Nathan Dumlao