Normally it's a nice quiet start to the year, but not this year! Sam and James look at the news we've already had so far this year. So much news, no tech stuff this week - that returns next week, along with your hosts being properly dressed.

• iHeartRadio adds OpenRSS video and alternate enclosures
• Netflix exclusivity versus open distribution trade-offs
• Deloitte’s $5bn forecast and attention data contradictions
• Spotify’s dynamic video sponsorships and platform fees
• Spotify’s $10bn claim weighed against Apple’s quiet gains
• YouTube ad effectiveness versus audio-only performance
• Podtrac trends, RSS softness, and YouTube up 82%
• The 2026 battle for RSS and open standards
• Apple Podcasts features, defaults, and market power
• Audio UK joins the Creative Industries Council
• UK and US listening hours, completion, and plays
• Bot traffic, download inflation, and verified metrics
• Amazon’s merch play, funding tags, and timed links
• People moves, jobs, awards, and global events

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We share five predictions each for 2026, from defining what a podcast is to why time spent listening will replace reach as the industry’s favorite metric. We weigh video’s upside against its risks for audio, call out AI slop, and back open RSS as the backbone of growth.

We're back next week with our usual show.

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James and Sam look back on our predictions for what 2025 would be like - and whether we got them right. Plus, our lowlights and highlights of the year.

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What happens when Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Amazon, Acast, Adobe, Pocket Casts, Triton, Bumper, Transistor, creators, and analysts all compare notes on where podcasting just landed—and where it’s headed next? You get a clear picture of a medium that’s fully mainstream, proudly hybrid, and fiercely contested. We gathered 25+ voices to unpack 2025’s biggest shifts and lay down their boldest calls for 2026.

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We track the biggest forces shaping podcasting next year: Goalhanger’s network effect, a pivot to listener-based analytics, and the tension between open RSS and closed “podcast” branding from big platforms. We dig into video hosting defaults, live streaming, and why honest metrics will decide winners.

(It's a re-upload! With the intro.)

• Apple’s Show of the Year milestone and Goalhanger’s model
• Cross-promo and cadence as scalable growth levers
• Flight Studio’s talent strategy versus brand synergy
• Hall of Fame inductees and industry recognition
• Creator retention, audio versus video habits, and practical focus
• Fountain’s video hosting and sensible playback defaults
• TrueFans roadmap for audio, video, and live with HLS
• TikTok’s “podcasts” and why definitions drive ad budgets
• Substack live streaming and platform convergence
• Pod Analyst’s unified telemetry, retention curves, and sales clarity
• Downloads versus unique listeners and consumption baselines
• Bot and AI slop concerns and search downgrading
• Libsyn price rises and market signals
• Awards season, new events, and what’s ahead

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We break down the Recap Apocalypse across Spotify, YouTube, Apple, and Amazon, then dig into craft with Brad Mielke on how Start Here reached 2,000 episodes by prioritising clarity, titles that pull, and audio-first production. Data meets discipline and the result is steady growth without burnout.

• Spotify’s Creator Wrapped as a real growth tool
• YouTube’s US-only charts and watch-time logic
• Apple Replay and Amazon Delivered compared
• Why hosts should build their own year-in-review
• Start Here’s daily format and guest booking tactics
• Titles that drive plays and timely packaging
• News avoidance, constructive journalism, balance
• Audio-only discipline vs video tradeoffs
• UK podcast charts and creator ad spend signals
• iOS auto-chapters and timed links for navigation
• V4V, boosts, and payment standard progress
• New tools, APIs, and analytics experiments

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We cut through the download delusion and show how people, playback, and time spent reveal true growth. Dan Misener explains loyalty metrics, we test platform tactics, and we share simple ways to turn spikes into steady listeners.

• people numbers, playback intent, and time spent as core metrics
• loyalty as repeat listening, short‑term vs lifetime signals
• diagnosing new listener vs returning listener problems
• tactics to lift retention: teases, tighter intros, linked back catalog
• autoplay spikes vs durable audience growth
• Patreon’s free RSS hosting and premium access options
• Overcast hiding promos and reruns, impact on revenue
• Pocket Casts playlists and improved search for discovery
• PSO benchmarks and the value of reviews
• community boosts, feedback, and hosting updates

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We break down TikTok’s podcast network with iHeart, Netflix’s audio push, and whether video is worth the cost, then dig into research on clips, companion podcasts, and the ad shift between radio and on‑demand. Sari Azut joins to show how a screenshot becomes a shareable clip and useful attention data.

• TikTok’s entry into podcasting and censorship concerns
• iHeart’s finances, radio softness, and podcast growth
• E‑commerce links, music discovery, and TikTok Shop
• Netflix’s short deals, UI changes, and exclusivity trade‑offs
• Data on clips failing to convert long‑form listens
• Companion podcasts that drive streaming subscriptions
• Radio and podcasts sold together via local and programmatic
• Video’s 77% cost lift per attention hour
• Indie monetisation realities and small‑show strategies
• Micropayments, wallets, and adoption barriers
• Overcast embracing key podcasting tags
• Podcast Magic’s screenshot‑to‑clip workflow and insights
• App updates, RSS presentation, and standards proposals

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We test Netflix’s “video podcast” land grab, then show why Apple’s AI chapters and Timed Links are the practical upgrade creators needed. DAX’s Brian Conlan joins to explain why audio’s problem is ROAS, not downloads, and how better measurement unlocks bigger budgets.

• Netflix licensing moves and YouTube exclusivity trade-offs
• Why this is cheap TV, not podcasting, and why that matters
• Audio vs video consumption and where value really sits
• Apple AI chapters, Timed Links, and transcript expansion
• Chapters JSON, ID3, and episode notes pros and cons
• Does Apple make ad skipping easier or ads better
• DAX on attribution, ROAS, and harmonised standards
• Spotify’s earnings, video spin, and creator payouts
• Libsyn ends The Feed; Podcast 411 returns
• Fireside Chat closes; Fox acquires Meet Cute
• LN address vs keysend and easier listener payments
• HLS, listen-time data, and ad effectiveness
• New tools: Podcast Magic and Snipd for smarter notes

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We unpack a bold true crime breakthrough: RNZ uses AI to recreate a deceased inmate’s voice with family consent and full disclosure, elevating the investigation without faking facts. We also dive into video on the TV screen, premium RSS, and why co‑host chemistry beats guest fatigue.

• Spotify adds video podcasts to Apple TV
• YouTube AI upscales low‑res video and adds QR shopping
• RNZ’s NARC uses 11Labs with ethics review and consent
• Why AI voice can be more transparent than actors
• Fountain hosting launches with open RSS and alt enclosures
• Premium RSS and Lightning versus card fees
• Streaming metrics for plays, listen time, and completion
• Interview saturation and the rise of host‑led formats
• China’s credential rule for sensitive creator topics
• Acast profitability and ARPL growth
• MrBallen’s SiriusXM deal and YouTube ad sales
• Bending Spoons buys AOL and raises prices playbook
• Layoffs across media and YouTube AI reorg
• OP3 bot spikes and practical filtering
• Stablecoins, MasterCard, and future micropayments
• Adobe’s licensed AI audio for safer commercial use
• Ad measurement with Audio Pixel and real attribution

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