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• In the US, there are almost twice as many men creating podcasts as women, according to The Creators 2025, a new study from Sounds Profitable into the creator ecosystem for podcasting, which became available to all yesterday. The full report is a free download.
  • While there is woefully poor gender balance in podcast creation, there is growing creator participation from multicultural communities, the study suggests, with the number of Hispanic, Black and Asian creators outpacing White creators. White creators also are less likely to create video.
  • The data also shows that one in three podcast creators quit. That figure is higher for those aged 55+, or for those who identify LGBTQ+.
  • “Women aren’t quitting podcasting more than men — they’re just not starting. That’s an entry problem, not a commitment problem,” said Sounds Profitable’s Tom Webster, suggesting that there are structural barriers to entry. “We lose something when voices opt out before they ever opt in.”
• Good news for fans of Nerdette - the show is to relaunch as an independent production, called Happy to Be Here. Nerdette was the casualty of cuts at WBEZ announced in April 2024; the host, Greta Johnsen, was able to use the old Nerdette feed for this new show.
• The Fiction Podcast Weekly newsletter is now independent. Expect resources and news for fiction podcast makers.

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• Happy Holidays from John Wordock Media — Did your podcast or network underperform this year? Make 2026 better. Consultant John Wordock lives where content strategy meets audience and revenue. So contact him today. All meetings confidential.
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Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Mamamia, Sounds Profitable, PodMatch, The $100 MBA, Cloud10, The Podglomerate, Audiohook, SALT, PAVE Studios, Companion Arts, Podscribe, Magid, Cohost, RedCircle, audioBoom, Simplecast, Steve Lack: Audio, Resound, Riverside.fm, Jar Podcast Solutions, Podchaser, Awesound, Podpage websites, Acast, Disctopia, We Edit Podcasts, Knucklehead Media Group, Evergreen Podcasts

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

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• The inductees of the 2026 Podcast Hall of Fame have been announced, recognising what the organisers call “visionary creators, innovators, and advocates whose work has shaped the modern podcasting landscape”. The Hall of Fame Ceremony is at PodFest, Jan 16 2026; the evening will be hosted by John Lee Dumas, founder and host of Entrepreneurs on Fire.
  • This year’s inductees are: \ Mark Asquith, Founder of Captivate \ Arielle Nisenblatt, founder, EarBuds Podcast Collective \ Dan Carlin, Creator, Hardcore History \ James Cridland, Editor, Podnews \ Pat Flynn, Founder, Smart Passive Income\ Julie Samuels, President/CEO Tech:NYC, Senior Staff Podcast Troll Attorney, EFF \ Veronica Belmont, CNET’s Buzz Out Loud, Sword & Laser, Mahalo Daily, co-host of Tekzilla \ Sarah van Mosel, former VP, Sponsorship at New York Public Radio, Acast, Stitcher, iHeart, SiriusXM \ Paul Colligan, President, Podcast Partnership \ Kerri Hoffman, CEO, PRX \ Dan Miller, host, 48 Days to the Work You Love, in memoriam - to be presented by Dave Ramsey
  • Speaking of which: Podfest’s pricing goes up on Friday. As a Podnews newsletter subscriber, you can save a further 10% over here.
• Libsyn has published its new pricing on its website. Its “bare essentials” plan has been removed.
• YouTube’s Neal Mohan has been named TIME’s 2025 CEO of the Year.

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

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• Just days after the announcement of the Golden Globes podcast nominees, the NYC Podcast Awards have been announced. The organisers say it is “launching in direct opposition to the download-first culture dominating podcasting. The Libby Awards recognize craft: sound design, writing, acting, engineering -- and the creators themselves -- as highly as audience size.” You’ve until Jan 10 to enter.
• Global investment in podcasting is not matched to consumption, according to a new study today from NumberEight. The research shows that the US leads spend, while Australia, Germany and France are expansion opportunities for buyers looking for incremental reach. The data shows differences in culture and personas, and shows additional data to help buyers scale. The work was done in collaboration with Barometer, AdsWizz, and Sounds Profitable.
• UK podcast company Goalhanger filed its accounts for the seven months of June-Dec 2024 (the company has changed its financial year). These are a UK legal requirement but don’t tell us much, since you don’t have to show profit and loss for this type of company. But - spoiler - it’s in profit; it ended Dec 2024 with just over £5mn (USD $6.7mn) in the bank. In May, it had £2.7mn.

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• The Creators 2025 — The latest study from Sounds Profitable debuts Dec 10th with new data on audio and video creators, as well as lapsed creators who are no longer making podcasts. Join Tom Webster for this free webinar!

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

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

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• The 2026 nominees for the Golden Globes Best Podcast were announced - the first time podcasts have been recognised. The nominees are: Armchair Expert (Wondery), Call Her Daddy (SiriusXM), Good Hang (Spotify), SmartLess (SiriusXM), The Mel Robbins Podcast (SiriusXM), and Up First (NPR). The podcast nomination announcement was made in the portion that wasn’t televised. The awards show is on Jan 11.
  • SiriusXM has half the nominations. “We couldn’t be prouder,” said the company’s Scott Greenstein. Additionally, Dax Shepard and Monica Padman described the nomination for Armchair Expert as “unfathomable” and “a true honor”.
  • Dying for Sex also got a nomination as a limited TV show, based on Wondery’s original Dying for Sex podcast.
  • In spite of paying significantly for promotion, including full-page ads in Variety and Times Square billboards, The Ben Shapiro Show failed to be nominated - indeed, perhaps playing safe, there were no nominations for any political shows (right or left-leaning) or for sports shows.
• Podtrac released its US ranker for November 2025. All of the top ten publishers posted significantly lower numbers month-on-month (we can normally blame Thanksgiving for that); but numbers are also down year-on-year.
• Piers Morgan Uncensored is to launch a spin-off series, History Uncensored. The show will be hosted by Bianca Nobilo - on YouTube “and as a podcast”. It’s the first of a number of shows to use the Uncensored brand.

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• Follow the Pointless Global News Podcast — Tad Flakey and Lilibet Flakey bring you the most pointlessly weird and funny news from around the world. Follow us wherever you get your podcasts.
• The Creators 2025 — The latest study from Sounds Profitable debuts Dec 10th with new data on audio and video creators, as well as lapsed creators who are no longer making podcasts. Join Tom Webster for this free webinar!

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

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

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• Laura Mayer has joined Talkhouse as Head of Podcasts. She was the Executive Producer of Podcast Programming at ABC News; and made Shameless Acquisition Target, a podcast acquired by Gilded Audio in Jan 2023.
• The first inductees for the Podcast Hall of Fame 2026 have been announced. They are: Dan Carlin, the host of Hardcore History; podcasting’s Arielle Nissenblatt, and CEO of Captivate, Mark Asquith. Tickets for the Hall of Fame induction ceremony are available now.
• Netflix is to acquire Warner Bros. The acquisition, which is likely to conclude in Q3/26, is worth $82.7bn. Hollywood has not reacted well to the news. The company is currently buying exclusive video rights to shows from podcast publishers.

> > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.

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• The Creators 2025 — The latest study from Sounds Profitable debuts Dec 10th with new data on audio and video creators, as well as lapsed creators who are no longer making podcasts. Join Tom Webster for this free webinar!

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

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

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