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Newspaper’s hit podcast not all it seems

Exclusive: Spain’s Hoy en EL PAÍS has been claiming impressively high download figures; yet today, Podnews can reveal that many of the downloads were never heard. The 14MB podcast was observed automatically downloading, without user intervention, in a browser using an iPhone user-agent - just by visiting the elpais.com homepage.: thus artificially growing the download numbers from every mobile visitor to the website. El País got over 118mn visits in September, according to similar web, making it the largest Spanish newspaper online. It’s owned by Prisa. The podcast is apparently the 12th biggest show, by downloads, on Triton’s Latin America Podcast Ranker, and 45th in Podtrac’s estimated Spanish podcast ranker - the show, hosted by Triton Digital, also appears to contain a spot for programmatic advertising.
- Podnews notified the newspaper of this behaviour, with a method to reproduce it, and asked for a statement. The auto-download behaviour has now quietly ceased.
- If you think you’ve seen this before, iHeart was auto-loading podcasts on its over 1,000 radio station websites in 2018.
Acast released its Podcast Pulse report, working with Edison Research. 80% of podcast listeners tune into niche podcasts, with 63% saying they are less likely to skip ads on those shows. 92% say they listen to podcasts because they cover topics more in-depth than other media. The data is available in full here.
The winners of the Signal Awards were announced. 170,000 votes were cast for the Listener’s Choice Award winners.

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Joe Rogan has uploaded the full Trump interview to Elon Musk’s X, claiming that “there is an issue with searching for this episode on YouTube”. He had blamed a Spotify glitch for the video initially being unwatchable on YouTube. Rogan’s next guest will be JD Vance; negotiations continue with the Harris campaign.
AdsWizz announced a partnership with NumberEight to offer contextually-targeted ads without using listener IP addresses. The tool “uses anonymized publisher data and contextual information from RSS feeds”.
Supporting Cast is now helping monetise a number of podcast creators in New Zealand - Newsroom, Stuff, The Guilt Podcast, and Rova’s Not for Radio.
TheTalkShow.ai lets you be interviewed by an AI interviewer about a subject of your choice. Might be a good place to practice being a great podcast guest.
Bandrew Scott highlights “the problem with podcast conferences”.
Pocket Casts has added a listening history feature, so you can remember where you heard that great joke. Find it in your profile.

Tips and tricks

Apple Podcasts offers some great opportunities for artwork - but only if you know about them all. Chris Stone has produced a simple guide to Apple Podcasts artwork, which is well worth a read. It’s part of his weekly newsletter.

Podcast News

Born To Love with Ellie Kemper and Scott Eckert is now part of the Lemonada Media lineup. Hosted by Ellie Kemper and Scott Eckert, it's all about things people love. Actors, comedians, chefs, writers, and more get personal about their secret passions, their favorite hobbies, and the people, places, and things that light them up.
Crawl Before You Ball® Love, Relationships & Money is new from Buffie Purselle - dedicated to empowering couples to navigate the often complex intersection of finances and relationships. The show, with Acast, is also available on YouTube.
Coolroom Confessional with Melissa Leong is new from Square and Amex - a new podcast for restaurants, cafes and pub owners. The Australian show shares warts-and-all stories from the hospitality industry and aims to be a valuable resource and support for the nationʼs hospo industry as it contends with the current tough economic environment. It's produced by DM Podcasts.
AfterWords returns for season five today - by Hurst publishers, the show features conversations between authors and journalists about their illuminating books. Hear conversations with authors about the changing face of modern terrorism in the UK, the complex and delicate process of peace-making in an increasingly dystopian world, and a culinary adventure like you’ve never seen…or heard…before.
The Burden: Avenger is a new season of The Burden, telling the true story of Miriam Lewin who overcame her own past as a victim of torture in Buenos Aires, to not only change her future but also the future of her country. The podcast is based on dozens of hours of interviews in Spanish which have been translated and now voiced by actors. It's a production of Orbit Media, Sonoro Media, and Signal Co. No1.

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