by Gavin Gaddis
Bloomberg sources say the proposed deal would combine the country’s biggest radio station owner with its biggest satellite radio service, which would represent more than $12 billion of combined annual sales/revenue. As of Friday, representatives from both iHeart and SiriusXM have declined to comment on the Bloomberg piece.
S&P Global Market Intelligence data shows U.S. podcast listening grew 10 percentage points from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026, with nearly 60% of online adults reporting podcast listening in the past year. The figure is close to Sounds Profitable’s The Podcast Landscape 2025 findings, which show that 68% of respondents have consumed a podcast (audio or video) in the past year. While S&P’s data specifies “listeners,” the percentage of Podcast Landscape respondents who say they are “video only” hovers around 8-9%. When compared to the S&P figure, this percentage brings the total in line with Podcast Landscape audience findings on podcast audience growth.
Spotify Rolls Out Fitness, Claude Integration
This morning, Spotify launched new fitness offerings, with both free and Premium users having access to dozens of curated workout playlists and content from established wellness creators. The rollout partners with Peloton to give Premium members ad-free access to over 1,400 on-demand classes. Spotify has also integrated with Claude AI, letting users connect accounts for personalized recommendations from their listening data.
Spanish-language podcast platform iVoox has launched a TV ad campaign developed by agency Drop&Vase for airing on Mediaset España channels. Podnews has provided an English-captioned version of the ad, and notes it may be the first formal TV ad for a podcast app they have seen — though Audible and TuneIn have run spots before.
The funding will support Audion’s U.S. expansion, including go-to-market operations, partnerships, and product development. On LinkedIn, Audion co-founder and CEO Arthur Larrey reflects on the three Audion pillars (audio performance, AudionAI, and the convergence of audio and video) and expresses excitement about relocating to New York City.
…as for the rest of the news:
Variety covers this year’s Peabody Award winners, including Divine Intervention, Scam Inc, and When We All Get to Heaven. Wonder Media Network co-founder and Global SVP, Business Development at Acast Shira Atkins took to LinkedIn on Friday to discuss Divine Intervention’s win.
Podcast Business Journal has a new interview with Headliner co-founder and CEO Neil Mody, discussing the company’s eighth birthday and why it started in the first place.
Love on the Spectrum star Connor Tomlinson has announced he is hosting a history-themed video podcast for PAVE Studios as part of a new slate of history content.
A recent special episode of Media Roundtable shares the audio of a SXSW discussion titled “The Guaranteed Human in an Artificial World”, featuring iHeartPodcasts president Will Pearson, Libsyn CEO Brendan Monaghan, GoodRx VP, Growth Marketing Richard Case, and Gladwell Mwangi, paid media enablement lead at Whole Foods Market.
