by Gavin Gaddis
Podcast Movement 2026 heads to New York City on September 17 and 18 at Terminal 5, and anyone who registers by September 4 will have their podcast logo or company artwork featured in lights on a Times Square display. Webster also walks readers through the keynote lineup, including his own reveal of the Podcast Landscape 2026 research. The official IAB Podcast Upfront after-party is also set for Terminal 5, admitting anyone with a Sounds Profitable Business Summit, Podcast Movement, or IAB Podcast Upfront ticket. Speaking of tickets, fewer than 200 Podcast Movement tickets remain at $199 each.
Hernan Lopez examines how streaming platforms are rethinking distribution, from the Netflix, Peacock, and Fox negotiations to YouTube's deal to ingest Peacock. He weighs the trade-offs between direct-to-consumer models, wholesale distribution through Amazon Channels, Roku, and YouTube, and advertising-tier monetization. Lopez projects Amazon Channels could bring in roughly $10 billion a year and notes that distributor subscriptions now make up one-third of all new streaming subscriptions.
A federal judge ruled that Google will not be forced to divest its ad tech business despite earlier monopoly findings, a decision that reshapes the structure of the programmatic advertising market. The outcome likely will have knock-on effects on pricing, inventory access, and competitive dynamics across digital advertising.
…as for the rest of the news:
AudioStack details how one AI audio campaign produced more than 100 ads and 70% engagement for Wella.
Goalhanger is launching a "British Bourne" thriller about a mission to assassinate the Russian president.
American Public Media and StreamGuys have launched the Inform Media Network to connect national underwriters with public radio's digital audiences and turn unsold inventory into revenue.
Amplitude Media Partners is celebrating a successful second year monetizing Daniel Negreanu's daily World Series of Poker YouTube vlog through brand partnerships.
On the Podcast Advertising Playbook, Laura Mayer joins Heather Osgood to argue that podcasting's video mania is financially irrational and to make the case for CPM discipline and culling underperforming shows.
On the Media Roundtable, Dhar Mann and MrBallen tell Dan Granger what creators want from brands, arguing advertisers over-index on end-of-funnel conversion at the expense of top-of-funnel storytelling.
