Podwires Rundown: Podcasters are now as trusted as journalists for purchase recommendations. REALLY? Let that sink in for a second. While the industry obsesses over video expansion and social reach, 84% of podcast listeners say a host has literally changed their mind about something they once believed – yet three-quarters refuse to call these people "influencers."

This isn't cognitive dissonance. It's proof that podcasting cracked a code the rest of media is still trying to understand: resonance beats reach, every single time.

Acast released its annual Podcast Pulse 2025 report this week, developed with research firm Differentology across nine global markets (USA, UK, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Mexico, Norway, Sweden) surveying more than 2,500 podcast listeners. The findings reveal podcasters aren't just competing with traditional media – they've fundamentally redefined what influence means in modern marketing.

The Key Points:

The Big Picture: For podcasters and producers, this validates what you already suspected: the intimate audio experience you're building isn't a limitation to overcome – it's the entire value proposition. Fair play to those already treating the audio feed as their primary relationship-building tool while using video and social as reach extensions rather than replacements. The strategic takeaway here is clear: invest in audio quality, consistency, and genuine connection first. Your social presence and video clips matter because they amplify trust built through audio, not because they're replacing it.

The commercial implications are massive. Brands now have concrete proof that podcast advertising works differently than other channels – not just reaching audiences, but actually changing minds and driving action at rates that crush traditional media. For producers, this means you can confidently pitch podcast campaigns as high-trust, high-conversion opportunities rather than experimental budget line items. The resonance formula is simple: Attention + Trust = Action. Podcasts dominate all three variables.

But here's the uncomfortable truth the industry needs to hear: this research only matters if people can actually find and consume podcasts easily. All this trust and conversion data becomes irrelevant if discovery and playback experiences continue lagging behind closed platforms. The Acast research proves podcasting's superiority as an influence medium – now the technical infrastructure needs to match that value. Otherwise, we're just measuring the declining relevance of a medium that couldn't get its act together while it still had the advantage.

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Podwires rundown :The podcast industry showed continued momentum in October, with the majority of tracked publishers reporting audience growth across key metrics, according to new rankings released this week by Podtrac, the leading podcast measurement and analytics service.

Podtrac released its October 2025 rankings for top US and global publishers, networks, and individual podcasts, revealing growth patterns that suggest sustained expansion in the medium. The report, available at Podtrac.com, now includes expanded international data with new country-specific rankings covering 35 nations.

The Key Points:

The Big Picture: For podcasters and producers, October's data validates continued investment in content development and audience growth strategies. With the majority of publishers posting gains, the rising tide appears to be lifting most boats rather than concentrating growth among a handful of networks. Producers should note that growth in both UMA and downloads suggests audiences are not only discovering new shows but consuming more content from existing subscriptions.

Publishers can use these rankings to benchmark performance against competitors and identify growth opportunities in specific markets now that country-level data is available. The international expansion of Podtrac's rankings is particularly significant for networks evaluating global distribution strategies or considering partnerships with international publishers.

For the advertising community, consistent month-over-month growth across multiple publishers reinforces podcasting's position as a reliable reach vehicle. The combination of audience expansion and increased consumption provides advertisers with both scale and frequency opportunities. Networks posting international gains offer particularly compelling opportunities for brands pursuing global or regional campaigns.

Registration for monthly ranking updates is available at Podtrac.com, allowing industry stakeholders to track competitive dynamics and identify emerging trends as they develop.

Podwires Rundown: The Candace Owens podcast claimed the top position in downloads and views per episode during October, surging from sixth place the previous month with 3.5 million per episode, according to new industry rankings released this week by Podscribe, a podcast measurement and advertising intelligence firm.

The October 2025 Industry Ranker, which Podscribe notes is the most comprehensive tracking of podcast shows, publishers and advertisers, revealed shifts in both content popularity and advertising investment patterns as the medium continues its growth trajectory.

While Candace dominated per-episode metrics, The Daily from The New York Times, Crime Junkie, and The Joe Rogan Experience maintained their positions in overall audience reach, drawing 11.1 million, 10.8 million and 6.2 million listeners respectively during the month.

The Key Points:

The Big Picture : For podcasters and producers, October's rankings reveal two distinct pathways to success in the current landscape. Established shows from major publishers—The Daily, Crime Junkie, Joe Rogan—maintain massive audience reach through consistent quality and institutional distribution advantages. Meanwhile, personality-driven shows like Candace demonstrate that individual creators can rapidly climb rankings through timely content and audience engagement, even competing against well-resourced media organizations.

Publishers should note the continued dominance of major media companies in overall reach metrics, with Spotify, SiriusXM Media and iHeartMedia commanding the top three positions. However, Acast's simultaneous strength in both audio reach and total downloads suggests independent publishers can compete effectively across multiple measurement categories without the scale of platform-owning competitors.

For the advertising community, BetterHelp's sustained position as the top spender reflects direct-to-consumer brands' continued confidence in podcast advertising's return on investment. The debut of America's Beverage Companies at second place with $4.3 million in estimated spend represents a notable entry by a trade association into podcast advertising, potentially signaling growing sophistication in how industry groups view the medium's advocacy and public relations value.

Podscribe noted it has updated its naming convention for monthly rankings to reflect the measurement period rather than release date. The October 2025 ranker captures performance from October 1-31, 2025. Additional insights and detailed rankings are available through Podscribe's platform, with demonstration access available by request.

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Podwires Rundown: Podcasts aren't just part of the political playbook anymore – they're becoming the entire game plan. Tuesday's elections in New York City and New Jersey prove it, with both victors massively outgunning their opponents in podcast audience reach. And the numbers from Edison Podcast Metrics tell a story the political establishment can't ignore: go where the listeners are, or lose.

Edison Podcast Metrics analyzed podcast appearances from the four major candidates in Tuesday's marquee races – NYC mayoral candidates Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo, plus New Jersey gubernatorial candidates Mikie Sherrill and Jack Ciattarelli. The team scoured the internet from January through October 2025 to document every podcast episode featuring these candidates. What they found should terrify any political consultant still treating podcasts as optional.

The Key Points:

The Big Picture : For podcasters and producers, this represents validation and opportunity in equal measure. Political campaigns are treating podcast appearances as essential voter outreach, not experimental side projects. The sheer volume of appearances – 83 combined podcast episodes across four candidates in just ten months – demonstrates podcasts have become mandatory stops on the campaign trail, not novelty bookings.

Producers should recognize what this means for show positioning and monetization. Political campaigns bring budgets, urgency, and measurability to podcast advertising in ways few other categories can match. Shows that cultivated politically engaged audiences now have quantifiable proof their listeners matter to the most consequential decision-makers in American democracy. That's leverage.

The Edison data reveals an uncomfortable truth for political strategists: booking volume isn't enough. Cuomo made 18 appearances – respectable by any standard – but reached an audience ten times smaller than Mamdani's 31 appearances. Ciattarelli appeared on 16 podcasts yet reached less than a quarter of Sherrill's audience. The winners didn't just hustle harder – they hustled smarter, securing appearances on shows with larger, more engaged audiences.

This creates a new dynamic for podcast hosts and networks with substantial reach. You're no longer just content creators – you're kingmakers. Political campaigns will chase access to your audiences with the same intensity they pursue television appearances and rally crowds. The question becomes: how do you leverage that influence while maintaining editorial credibility?

The comparison to presidential candidates adds crucial context. Mamdani appeared on more podcasts than Trump or Harris, despite running for a municipal office. Let that sink in. Down-ballot candidates are now out-podcasting presidential nominees because they understand the medium's power. This isn't a trend – it's a fundamental realignment of political media strategy.

For the podcast industry, Tuesday's elections provide empirical evidence that podcast audiences drive real-world outcomes at scale. Edison Podcast Metrics has handed podcasters the ultimate case study: larger audience reach through podcast appearances correlates with electoral victory, especially among younger voters who are reshaping the electorate. The medium that struggled for advertiser respect now commands the attention of the most sophisticated political operations in the country.

Fair play to Edison for documenting this with actual data instead of vibes and speculation. The podcast industry needed receipts to prove political impact, and now we have them.

⏭️ ATP Tour and Spotify Announce Major Content Partnership for Tennis Fans Through 2026. The ATP Tour and Spotify have unveiled a groundbreaking global content collaboration designed to revolutionize how tennis fans engage with the sport through compelling original programming and exclusive behind-the-scenes access.

⏭️ Apple Podcasts to Launch Auto-Generated Chapters and Timed Links in iOS 26.2 Developer Beta. Apple Podcasts will introduce automatically-generated chapters for English-language podcast episodes and timed links allowing creators to add timestamped connections to Apple Music, Apple News, Apple Podcasts, and Apple TV content when iOS 26.2 launches from developer beta testing, with both features offering creator opt-out options and auto-generated chapters only appearing when creators don't provide their own, following Spotify's similar feature rollout earlier in 2025.

⏭️ Magellan AI Q3 2025 Report Shows Podcast Ad Spending Up 26% Year-Over-Year Across 94,724 Episodes. Magellan AI's Q3 2025 Quarterly Benchmark Report analyzed 94,724 podcast episodes and found podcast advertising spending increased 26% year-over-year with 1,689 new brands entering the market and gaming industry ad spend jumping 59%, while the company will host a free webinar on November 18, 2025 to discuss the findings.

⏭️ Spotify for Creators Leads October 2025 Podcast Hosting Market with 29.5% Share of 1.5 Million New Episodes, Livewire Labs Reports. Livewire Labs' October 2025 podcast hosting analysis of 1.5 million new episodes (up 0.2% month-over-month) found Spotify for Creators maintained the top position with 29.5% episode share, followed by Spreaker at 18.1% and Buzzsprout at 10%, while other notable platforms included Podbean (3.5%), Simplecast (3.4%), Megaphone (3.1%), RSS.com (3.0%), Transistor (2.8%), and Libsyn (2.7%) in the independent verification study by analyst John Spurlock.

⏭️ RSS.com Hosts Free Podcast Legal Webinar with Gordon Firemark on November 13, 2025 Covering Copyrights and Trademarks. RSS.com is hosting a free YouTube Live webinar on Thursday, November 13, 2025 at 10 am PT featuring entertainment attorney Gordon Firemark, known as The Podcast Lawyer, and Greg Wasserman to teach podcasters about copyrights, trademarks, contracts, monetization disclosure rules, libel and defamation risks, and LLC formation to help creators protect their shows and avoid legal mistakes.

⏭️ AIR Hosts Free Social Impact Podcasting Panel on November 18, 2025 with Leaders from The Podglomerate and Hueman Group Media. The Association of Independents in Radio (AIR) is hosting a free recorded Zoom panel on Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at 3pm ET featuring moderator Ayo Oti and panelists from The Podglomerate, Hueman Group Media, and Podcasters with Impact to discuss how social impact podcasters can navigate industry challenges including studio closures, nonprofit funding volatility, and marketing strategies for investigative journalism and mission-driven shows beyond financial ROI.

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