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• Exclusive: Rob and Elsie are back working together in podcasting today, with the news that Captivate has appointed Rob Walch and Elsie Escobar. Rob Walch is VP of Podcaster Relations, working with Captivate and DAX US on its podcast advertising and monetisation offering; Elsie Escobar is Creator Success & Community Manager, supporting creators and community growth. They both come from Libsyn. They'll also be back behind the microphone, as the new hosts of In & Around Podcasting. Including Mark Asquith's induction this year, we think that makes Captivate the company that now has more Podcast Hall of Famers than anyone else.
• Nigerian podcasters are much less likely to "podfade", says new data from the country. The Nigerian Podcast Index has published the first comprehensive snapshot of the country's podcast industry. Spotify for Creators is the #1 podcast host in the country, and over 90% of shows are in English, with local languages achieving an 8% share.
• ESPN's Murder at the U, a new podcast released today, is responsible for finding new information that resulted in the arrest of a suspect for murder. The show looks at the 2006 murder of University of Miami star Bryan Pata, and discovers missteps and opportunities from the original investigation team.

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Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, Jonekiri, Voxtopica, SoundStack, Locked On Podcast Network, The Roost, Gilded Audio, The Podcast Haven, Companion Arts, Frequency, Storyboard, Truefans, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Tink Media, Gumball, PodAnalyst, Huberman Lab, Compliance Podcast Network, POW PR, Ausha, Podium , Red Seat Ventures, Castbox, Beamly, Message Heard, Health Podcast Network, CreatorX, Rephonic, Oxford Road, Optimal Living Daily, Blubrry, Rhapsody Voices, Zvook, Transistor, Podcast Taxi, Wondery, Jam Street Media, Diversion Podcasts, Headliner, Castos, matchmaker.fm, Lemonada Media, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Heartcast Media50, Double Elvis Productions, Ad Results Media, Podcast Partnership, StreamGuys, Content10x, Hear.Here.Singapore, Cleanfeed, She Podcasts, Adopter Media, Podcast Movement, School of Podcasting, Podigy, Revolver Podcasts, Lower Street, Sonix, Signal Hill Insights, Edison Research

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• Red Seat Ventures, part of FOX's Tubi group, has acquired premium subscription tool Supercast. Terms weren't given. Supercast’s top 10 podcasters gross more than $26 million per year in subscription revenue, the press release notes; paid subscriptions are a fast-growing part of the podcast ecosystem. Acast partnered with Supercast last April; Supercast is also used by Huberman Lab and This American Life.
• First look: The Ambies award ceremony this year will be hosted by Wyatt Cenac, it's just been announced. The Emmy and WGA award-winning comedian, writer, and producer will be joined by Donwill, who will serve as the evening’s official house DJ.
  • TPA also unveiled its inaugural Vanguard Jury, a "collective of industry leaders and emerging voices dedicated to shaping and elevating the podcasting medium", who selected the 2026 Vanguard Podcaster of the Year.
• Spotify posted its Q4/25 earnings report. The company now has more than 750mn users across the world - more added in the past quarter than ever - and 290mn paid subscribers (up 10% year-on-year). The company claims the success is due to their popular Wrapped campaign - and shared than 300mn users accessed it (which also means 400mn didn't). By this morning, shares were up nearly +15% (but still almost a third lower than a year ago).
  • In terms of podcasting, the prepared remarks tell us that there are 530,000 video podcast shows now on Spotify (and 7mn podcasts). "Video podcast consumption has increased by more than +90%" since Jan 2025; though without absolute numbers, this isn't too helpful. Podcasting wasn't mentioned other than in respect to video podcasts.
  • Ad sales over all of Spotify dropped in 2025 by a total of $21.5mn (-1%); but podcast ad sales dropped in the year by almost $99mn ("due to optimization of podcast inventory"). However, the costs to Spotify of making podcasts also decreased in 2025, helping ad-supported gross margin improve.
  • In 2023, Spotify had 9,123 employees. By the end of 2025, there were -20% fewer, at 7,287.

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• Listen to Love, Take Two — Life’s messy. Love, Take Two is your reminder it’s okay to pivot, try again, and embrace second chances with humor, heart, and real talk from queer hosts José & Jaimie.

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Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, Storyboard, Compliance Podcast Network, Truefans, Red Seat Ventures, POW PR, Gilded Audio, Voxtopica, Companion Arts, Podium , SoundStack, Huberman Lab, Castbox, PodAnalyst, Tink Media, Frequency, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, The Roost, The Podcast Haven, Gumball, Locked On Podcast Network, Jonekiri, Ausha, Beamly, Message Heard, Health Podcast Network, Zvook, Sonic Influencer Marketing, matchmaker.fm, Blubrry, Lemonada Media, Jam Street Media, Rhapsody Voices, Castos, Double Elvis Productions, Optimal Living Daily, Heartcast Media50, Transistor, Podcast Taxi, Wondery, Rephonic, Oxford Road, CreatorX, Headliner, Diversion Podcasts, Hear.Here.Singapore, Podcast Partnership, Ad Results Media, StreamGuys, Content10x, She Podcasts, Cleanfeed, Adopter Media, Sonix, Lower Street, School of Podcasting, Revolver Podcasts, Podigy, Podcast Movement, Signal Hill Insights, Edison Research

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• Theo Von and The Roost Podcast Network did a clever campaign for Pepsi over the weekend - amplifying the effect of the Pepsi Superbowl "The Choice" ad, with the bear popping into This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von. A clever way to get more value from the TV spot. (The Roost's Catherine Brown writes more about it on LinkedIn).
• A new show has been announced by Goalhanger - The Book Club, which "brings the historical context behind famous books to life". It's hosted by Dominic Sandbrook and his producer, Tabitha Syrett. Wuthering Heights will be the subject of the first episode (there's a new spicy movie adaptation out shortly, too).
• Magellan AI has released its Q4 2025 Podcast Advertising Benchmark Report. Podcast ad revenue was almost a third higher, year-on-year, with 1,482 new brands buying ads on podcasts. However, in the last three months alone, there was an increase in ad load of +6%; now, 8.82% of the average podcast - 7 minutes in every hour - is advertising.

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• Audiencelift - YouTube Channel Growth for Podcasts — Ready to grow your podcast on YouTube? With targeted strategies, you can increase visibility, attract listeners, and turn views into subscribers. Start growing your YouTube Channel Today!

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Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, Castbox, Gumball, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, SoundStack, Gilded Audio, PodAnalyst, Locked On Podcast Network, Tink Media, Huberman Lab, Jonekiri, POW PR, Truefans, Companion Arts, Ausha, The Podcast Haven, Voxtopica, Red Seat Ventures, Podium , The Roost, Compliance Podcast Network, Storyboard, Frequency, Beamly, Message Heard, Health Podcast Network, Optimal Living Daily, Wondery, Headliner, Double Elvis Productions, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Rhapsody Voices, Jam Street Media, Zvook, CreatorX, Castos, Podcast Taxi, matchmaker.fm, Diversion Podcasts, Transistor, Rephonic, Oxford Road, Lemonada Media, Heartcast Media50, Blubrry, Hear.Here.Singapore, Ad Results Media, Podcast Partnership, Content10x, StreamGuys, Cleanfeed, She Podcasts, Revolver Podcasts, Podcast Movement, Lower Street, School of Podcasting, Podigy, Sonix, Adopter Media, Edison Research, Signal Hill Insights

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• The Daily Beast has signed with Daylight Media for ad sales, distribution and monetization of The Daily Beast's portfolio of podcasts, including The Daily Beast Podcast, Inside Trump's Head and Obsessed.
• Podtrac released its January ranker. Overall, total audience was up for January over December. The Ezra Klein Show is highest new entry at #14. The ranker measures participating publishers only.
• Ultimate Pods is a new app that bills itself "the future of books and podcasts". The idea is that listeners can pause any episode, ask a question, and hear the host answer them in their actual voice using AI synthesis. It's $4.99 a week; the developer, Ben Ganz, claims more than 50 paying subscribers already, and 20+ creators already signed up.

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Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, Ausha, Red Seat Ventures, Jonekiri, Castbox, POW PR, Podium , Tink Media, Voxtopica, SoundStack, The Podcast Haven, Storyboard, Gumball, Truefans, The Roost, Gilded Audio, Frequency, Compliance Podcast Network, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Locked On Podcast Network, Huberman Lab, PodAnalyst, Companion Arts, Beamly, Message Heard, Health Podcast Network, Lemonada Media, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Oxford Road, Rephonic, Heartcast Media50, Headliner, matchmaker.fm, Transistor, Jam Street Media, Wondery, Double Elvis Productions, Rhapsody Voices, Optimal Living Daily, Blubrry, CreatorX, Podcast Taxi, Castos, Zvook, Diversion Podcasts, Podcast Partnership, Ad Results Media, Content10x, StreamGuys, Hear.Here.Singapore, She Podcasts, Cleanfeed, Lower Street, Podcast Movement, Revolver Podcasts, Adopter Media, Sonix, Podigy, School of Podcasting, Signal Hill Insights, Edison Research

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• The Washington Post cut more than a third of its employees, including more than 300 of its 800 newsroom staff. We gather that their audio department has been "all but eliminated". The flagship podcast Post Reports is cancelled - and did not publish yesterday; the show reached almost half a million people a month, according to Podscribe. The host of the show, Martine Powers, is one of those affected; there are reports that the company has laid-off all but two staffers in their audio team (here are some of those affected). That audio team won two Peabody Awards in 2024; but in December, the newspaper made AI-generated podcasts that were "riddled with errors", but were reportedly launched even knowing that they were a bad experience. The newspaper, which broke the Watergate scandal, was purchased by Jeff Bezos in 2013.
  • Podnews's jobs board is free for everyone.
• A new weekly news podcast in the Netherlands is to be entirely written, researched and fact-checked by AI. High Profile, a podcast made by Airborne Network, is human-hosted (at least, for now), but the company says that the "engaging" show provides depth and context to news. Today’s episode tells the story of Ayatollah Khamenei and the tensions within and around Iran.
• Are you in the podcasting or audio industry in the UK? AudioUK is helping the Department of Culture, Media and Sport, with a new project examining the size and scale of the UK’s podcasting and audio industry. There's a short confidential survey for you to fill in by Tuesday.

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• In the UK, comedians Elis James and John Robins, alongside long-term producer Dave Masterman, have teamed up to launch a brand new production company: Significant Productions. The trio have made some of the UK's most successful podcasts over the past twelve years.
• First look: Analytics and management solution Podstock has announced agreements with a number of sports media brands including Goalhanger, Playmaker, and others - joining existing publishers including Locked On and Blue Wire.
  • Meanwhile, Acast tells us that sports listening rises 44% during sporting events - and posts its Sports Podcast Game Plan.
• Slate's podcast portfolio is to be represented by Acast, the companies announced. The agreement brings more than 1.5mn weekly listens to Acast. Slate describes it as "a crucial step in scaling our podcast network while maintaining our unique editorial voice".

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• Podcasting for Financial Services — Strategies for wealth managers, VCs, PE firms, and allocators. See what separates the top finance podcasts from shows that fade away. Grab this free guide from The Podcast Consultant.
• 2026 Women Podcasters Awards — If you are a woman Podcaster, Producer or Expert Guest, you are invited to submit your nomination today. Our mission is to elevate women's voices globally and within the podcasting industry.

Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Mamamia, Sounds Profitable, PodMatch, The $100 MBA, The Podglomerate, Cloud10, Cohost, SALT, Steve Lack: Audio, audioBoom, PAVE Studios, Magid, Resound, Podscribe, Audiohook, RedCircle, The Content Creator's Accountant, Libsyn, Simplecast, Riverside.fm, Jar Podcast Solutions, Podchaser, Awesound, Knucklehead Media Group, Evergreen Podcasts, Disctopia, We Edit Podcasts, Acast, Podpage websites

Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, Voxtopica, Storyboard, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Red Seat Ventures, Frequency, Locked On Podcast Network, Tink Media, Jonekiri, Gumball, The Roost, PodAnalyst, Ausha, Gilded Audio, Truefans, SoundStack, Compliance Podcast Network, Companion Arts, Castbox, Huberman Lab, The Podcast Haven, POW PR, Podium , Beamly, Message Heard, Health Podcast Network, Jam Street Media, Lemonada Media, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Zvook, Headliner, CreatorX, Transistor, Double Elvis Productions, Rephonic, Castos, Blubrry, Wondery, matchmaker.fm, Podcast Taxi, Rhapsody Voices, Diversion Podcasts, Oxford Road, Optimal Living Daily, Heartcast Media50, StreamGuys, Ad Results Media, Hear.Here.Singapore, Content10x, Podcast Partnership, Cleanfeed, She Podcasts, Podigy, Lower Street, Revolver Podcasts, Podcast Movement, Adopter Media, School of Podcasting, Sonix, Edison Research, Signal Hill Insights

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• UK comedy podcast awards The Golden Lobes are open for entries. In 2025, winners included both solo creators and global platforms; the awards now have a wider number of categories (including a 'Best International Show' for shows made outside the UK), and the prize isn't just a trophy, but £5000 worth of prizes.
• Sony Playstation has been awarded a patent to use AI to present podcasts from game characters. Here's the patent in full. The podcasts would be personalised, and not available via RSS.
• YouTube has removed a number of "AI slop" channels from its platform. It's removed sixteen channels, which had a total of 4.7 billion views.

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Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, The Podcast Haven, Gilded Audio, Locked On Podcast Network, SoundStack, Podium , Huberman Lab, Storyboard, Red Seat Ventures, Gumball, Truefans, Castbox, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, POW PR, Frequency, Compliance Podcast Network, Tink Media, Companion Arts, Voxtopica, Ausha, PodAnalyst, The Roost, Jonekiri, Beamly, Message Heard, Health Podcast Network, Double Elvis Productions, Blubrry, Oxford Road, matchmaker.fm, Podcast Taxi, Jam Street Media, Transistor, Headliner, Heartcast Media50, Diversion Podcasts, Zvook, CreatorX, Wondery, Lemonada Media, Rhapsody Voices, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Rephonic, Optimal Living Daily, Castos, Hear.Here.Singapore, Content10x, StreamGuys, Ad Results Media, Podcast Partnership, She Podcasts, Cleanfeed, Podigy, Adopter Media, Podcast Movement, School of Podcasting, Sonix, Lower Street, Revolver Podcasts, Edison Research, Signal Hill Insights

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• A new voice enhancement tool, Voice Regen, has been launched - but this one is different. It's from Waves Audio, an Emmy® and Technical Grammy® Award-winning audio technology company, rather than a random guy with an AI account. The tool provides content creators with instant, professional-quality voice cleanup. It removes background noise, room echo, and fixes uneven volume. Pricing starts for free, but $4.99 currently gets WAV export and 300 minutes a month. It also does video.
  • If you'd like to know what it sounds like - you've probably already heard it. The Podnews Weekly Review from Dec 19 included lots of individual pieces of bad-quality audio, recorded all over the world on laptop microphones, via AirPods, the tiny microphone on your headphone lead, or who knows how - some seemingly in bathrooms or echoey offices, others in low-quality low-resolution files. Testing the tool, we pushed them all through Voice Regen; and the sound is consistent throughout.
• Audioboom has signed Crooked Media for hosting, global distribution and network advertising sales. Audioboom will also represent host read ads within Pod Save the UK.
• In Australia, SXSW Sydney has been cancelled. It's reported that the NSW government, which had part-funded the event in previous years, had pulled out (in spite of having signed a five year agreement). There were "two dedicated stages" for podcasts at the event last year.
  • SXSW in Austin TX continues, including this year's Podcast Movement Evolutions.
  • The Domefest podcast festival in Sydney takes place on Mar 29.

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Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, Compliance Podcast Network, Tink Media, Gumball, Huberman Lab, Truefans, POW PR, PodAnalyst, Frequency, Gilded Audio, Jonekiri, Storyboard, Podium , Castbox, Red Seat Ventures, Voxtopica, The Podcast Haven, Ausha, The Roost, Locked On Podcast Network, Companion Arts, SoundStack, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Beamly, Message Heard, Health Podcast Network, Rhapsody Voices, CreatorX, Headliner, Diversion Podcasts, Wondery, Heartcast Media50, Optimal Living Daily, Zvook, Blubrry, Rephonic, Transistor, matchmaker.fm, Lemonada Media, Castos, Oxford Road, Podcast Taxi, Double Elvis Productions, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Jam Street Media, Content10x, Hear.Here.Singapore, StreamGuys, Podcast Partnership, Ad Results Media, She Podcasts, Cleanfeed, Lower Street, Revolver Podcasts, Adopter Media, School of Podcasting, Podigy, Podcast Movement, Sonix, Edison Research, Signal Hill Insights

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• "Some true crime podcast episodes have hit a 34% ad load. One minute of ads for every two minutes of show." A new website has appeared, criticising the increasing amount of advertising in podcasts. The numbers are compelling - and the site suggests that some genres have already reached breaking point in the number of ads they carry. While the website is advertising for an ad-skipping podcast app, it poses a number of valid questions about whether the level of advertising in some podcasts - particularly when heard in the US - is too great. (Time will tell whether anyone takes notice).
• Semafor reports that podcast producer Kaleidoscope is staffing up, and has hired three new senior staff. The company has also reportedly bought Christy Mirabal's podcast marketing agency The Listening Party: Mirabal (who is also Chair of The Podcast Academy) will become Kaleidoscope's Head of Marketing. The company launched in Mar 2022, and raised a further $5mn last year.
• CBC Podcasts has posted an open call for pitches.

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• Perhaps video is the new gateway drug for podcasting. 72% of new podcast listeners, and 68% of long-time podcast listeners say they have started listening to the audio-only version of a podcast after discovering its video version. That's according to data that Edison Research revealed earlier this week in The Evolving Ear. The company also says that video podcasts are now more popular than audio-only podcasts among new podcast consumers; though this popularity is based on number of people, not necessarily time spent. The research cautions us to be prepared for changes in consumption.
• Spotify says that sports podcast consumption goes wild on the run up to the Super Bowl - +172% above average last year on the lead-up to the game - but in fact the days following the game saw a +358% surge. You'd expect this to also be the case for other podcast platforms. Spotify's Brian Berner tells us that “Sports fandom doesn’t start at kickoff or end at the final whistle anymore — it lives in the conversations that happen before and after the game. The level of engagement we see creates a powerful environment for brands to show up in ways that feel timely, relevant, and aligned with fan passion.” The Super Bowl is on Feb 8.
  • By the way - Spotify coyly called it "The Big Game" in their email to us; here's why. We're calling the Super Bowl in our coverage (because 15 U.S.C. § 1125(c)(3)(B)), but for your podcast, you may wish to check whether you, too, have to call it "The Big Game".
• Apple released their financial results - posting an all-time quarterly record. Apple Services (which includes the revenue from Apple Podcasts) reached a record of $30bn, up +14% year-on-year. The company acquired an audio AI startup called Q.ai for $2bn, for reasons that weren't disclosed.

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• First look: Podcast Movement Evolutions at SXSW has unveiled the first wave of speakers, including the acclaimed storyteller MrBallen. There will be live programming through the weekend, as well as a morning keynote from YouTube.
• Opting in for Spotify Video? You'll harm the measurability of your podcast, warns Podscribe in an email to subscribers today. This harms your measurement whether your listeners choose video or audio, since even if your listeners choose an audio version of a show that's available in video, they still get served the audio track of the video direct from Spotify - with no measurement from Podscribe or similar. Podscribe describes a part-workaround.
  • Spotify breaking open RSS in this way also extends to some podcast rankers like the Triton Digital ranker, which is based on logfile analysis. This led to Australian publisher Shameless Media coming out of the Australian ranker, as we reported last week. Analytics tools like OP3, which is based on server redirects, also cannot measure any plays on Spotify if that episode opted into video. It also means that you can't serve dynamic ads on these shows as well, which means you may significantly lower your revenue. A Sounds Profitable piece from April 2025 highlights the issues - and bluntly tells the podcast industry not to take part.
• UK podcast production company Goalhanger has formed a strategic partnership with The Chernin Group to accelerate the company's US expansion. TCG is Goalhanger's first external investor (the company has been entirely bootstrapped until now, though co-founder Gary Lineker is a multi-millionaire). TCG has also invested in Audiochuck, Barstool Sports, and Substack.

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Silver supporters: Audacia Audio, Gamut Podcast Network, Bumper, Goalhanger, Sounds Debatable, Magellan AI, Podium , Compliance Podcast Network, Red Seat Ventures, SoundStack, POW PR, Voxtopica, The Podcast Haven, Frequency, PodAnalyst, Huberman Lab, Gumball, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, Tink Media, Truefans, The Roost, Locked On Podcast Network, Storyboard, Jonekiri, Gilded Audio, Ausha, Castbox, Companion Arts, Beamly, Message Heard, Health Podcast Network, Diversion Podcasts, Castos, CreatorX, Transistor, Wondery, Podcast Taxi, Headliner, Optimal Living Daily, Rhapsody Voices, Blubrry, Jam Street Media, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Zvook, Rephonic, Lemonada Media, Double Elvis Productions, Oxford Road, matchmaker.fm, Heartcast Media50, Content10x, Ad Results Media, StreamGuys, Podcast Partnership, Hear.Here.Singapore, Cleanfeed, She Podcasts, School of Podcasting, Podcast Movement, Sonix, Podigy, Lower Street, Adopter Media, Revolver Podcasts, Signal Hill Insights, Edison Research

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