As the holidays approach, new research from iHeartMedia and Critical Mass Media finds that broadcast radio plays a key role in fueling the festive spirit, and consumer spending. Nearly all listeners say hearing Christmas music on the radio helps them get into the holiday mood, with many linking the tunes directly to excitement about shopping and giving. According to the study, 98% of holiday music listeners say radio helps them feel the holiday spirit, and 90% say it makes th

Audio hosts are emerging as key players in the creator economy, according to a new report from Audacy. “Social media influencers may have invented the follow, but radio and podcast hosts invented — and perfected — the relationship,” the company said in its latest Insights piece. Audacy said radio and podcast personalities have been cultivating loyalty, building communities and inspiring action long before the term “creator economy” became popular. These audio creators, rangin

The IAB Tech Lab continues its work to help create industry standards for how programmatic advertising is bought and sold. Its latest effort is focused on the introduction of a standardized approach to interoperability across the programmatic advertising ecosystem. The new specification uses a containerized architecture to enable faster communication and more efficient data exchange between technologies operating within the same data center. The trade group has just released

The Washington Post has announced a new agreement with Triton Digital. Under the agreement, Triton will power The Post’s digital audio strategy including podcast, monetization and measurement. “At Triton, we look forward to supporting The Washington Post as they expand their digital audio presence,” CEO John Rosso says in the announcement. “This partnership reflects the power of Triton’s technology and our commitment to helping premium publishers grow and monetize their audio

Brothers John and Sam Shahidi are the co-founders of Shots Studios, a media company that creates original mobile-first content, primarily for YouTube, Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat. As YouTube has become a big outlet for podcast distribution, their business has also expanded into audio with the Shots Podcast Network. They are now making a move to grow it further. Shots Podcast Network has formed an alliance with Cumulus Media, making its shows part of the Cumulus Podcast Ne

Radio continues to prove its value for telecom advertisers, according to new data from AnalyticOwl’s Industry Insights. The report, which analyzed 6,000 aired commercials across the telecom sector, found that radio not only drives website traffic but also generates high-quality visits from engaged consumers. Across campaigns, 69% of post-commercial website visits came through search engines, while 31% came from direct URL entry. Analysts note that this highlights a common con

As programmatic platforms like Amazon Ads, AudioGo, Triton, StreamGuys, and StackAdapt, among others are now making over-the-air radio inventory as easy to buy as digital ads, there is positive news from the Association of National Advertisers. Its quarterly benchmark report on the programmatic market shows steady gains in transparency and efficiency for programmatic channels. The ANA says when connected TV is excluded, its TrueAdSpend Index climbed to 47.1% —which means near

Despite gains in podcasting’s diversity, the medium continues to reflect gender and racial inequalities found across other entertainment media. A new USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative report concludes podcasting remains dominated by white male voices despite its reputation for accessibility and creative freedom. The study analyzed 592 of the most popular U.S.-based English-language podcasts on Spotify between January and September 2024, along with 6,413 guests from the top 1

The victim’s family in a decades-old Maryland murder case is crediting the true crime podcast “ American Nightmares ” for putting a focus on the crime, which has now allegedly been solved. Police announced this week that Edward Watts, who also went by Baari Shabazz — and who died in 2019 — was responsible for the 1998 crime. They allege he raped and murdered Sherry Crandell, a 50-year-old nurse and mother of three, inside her office at the former Prince George’s County Medica

A new medical evaluation has upended the ongoing guardianship case of longtime radio and TV host Wendy Williams, with tests indicating she does not have frontotemporal dementia. According to a report by  TMZ , Williams recently underwent a “battery of tests” in New York City. A neurologist who examined her determined that she does not have frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a degenerative brain condition that had been central to her court-ordered guardianship. The 61-year-old Wil