by Gavin Gaddis

The circle of life in our patio garden has broadened to include the mammal kingdom, as a single squirrel has realized he can feast on the sunflower seeds discarded by our bird visitors. No other squirrels have arrived this week, leading me to presume he’s keeping us a secret. What isn’t a secret, is how much is going on in the business of podcasting over in the U.K. as we gear up for The Podcast Show London next week. Let’s look at the news!

The Podcast Show London is just around the corner. This year Sounds Profitable has partnered with NumberEight, Katz Digital, Claritas, Barometer, Locked On, and AdLarge for the Pod-Tales and Cocktails Happy Hour at Bubba Oasis. Due to capacity, this is a waitlist link, but Sounds Profitable partners and clients of the sponsoring companies are given priority access. We'd love for you to sign up and hope to see you in London soon! 

U.K. audiences tend to be ad-avoidant in their content. Sound Insights founder Ben Robins attributes this to the BBC’s long history of zero commercial advertising shaping audiences’ baseline content expectations. 

“The effect runs deeper than simple preference. UK listeners have developed what might be called a “BBC baseline” — an unconscious standard against which all audio is measured. When an ad breaks the flow of a podcast, it isn’t experienced merely as an interruption. It’s experienced as a violation of what good audio is supposed to feel like.” 

The 2026 U.K. Advertising Landscape Study finds 47% of U.K. adults cannot recall a single brand from advertising they’ve seen or heard in the past week. 79% of U.K. podcast listeners recall an ad they heard in the past week. Taken in context with the statistic that 43% of U.K. adults are listening to podcasts monthly, that 79% is not a niche finding. Robins frames it as a mass-market result, showing podcasting is delivering results to an audience that, historically, should be resistant to its ads. 

Podcasts also prove to be functionally gender neutral when it comes to audience reach. Podcast ad recall scores 79% for men, 80% for women. This mirrors the findings of the U.S. Podcast Landscape study, suggesting that podcasting's mass appeal across genders is not unique to one country. The full U.K. Advertising Landscape Study will be debuted next week during The Podcast Show London. 

A new Reuters Institute report blends audience research and media manager interviews to examine the evolving news podcast ecosystem. Though video podcasting has grown rapidly, the report finds overlap between its audiences and audio podcast listeners—suggesting the same consumers access podcasts in different contexts. A quote from Senior Research Associate and report author Nic Newman: 

“Video is no longer an optional extra for podcasting – it’s becoming central to how shows are discovered, distributed, and monetised. But that doesn’t mean audio disappears; it means publishers have to think much more carefully about what each format is for.”

Podnews reports Amazon Music launches video podcasts this week for U.S. iOS and Android users. The app will use HLS video, as Podnews reports, “including support for HLS multivariate playlists via an alternate enclosure in RSS.” A quote from an Amazon Music spokesperson, speaking to Podnews:

“In today’s rapidly evolving podcast landscape, video has emerged as an increasingly essential format for creators and their audiences. With more consumers engaging with video podcasts of their favorite shows, Amazon Music is introducing an integrated video podcast experience for customers, making it simpler for customers to watch a selection of their favorite podcasts without leaving the app. This early experience will help us gather valuable customer feedback to shape and enhance the experience.” 

Video podcasts launched on Amazon’s ART19 platform and will expand to more partners this summer. The piece notes there is no private API to submit video to Amazon Music, and it is not charging podcast creators or networks for access to video distribution. 

Libsyn, Podigee, Audioboom, Audiomeans, and Podspace now support the Spotify Distribution API. Creators on those platforms can distribute video podcasts directly to Spotify and monetize eligible content via the Partner Program. Spotify is also taking another step toward platform-agnostic video distribution later this year, as it has announced upcoming support for Apple Podcasts’ HLS video tech. Once launched, podcasters hosting on Spotify will be able to distribute video content to both Spotify and Apple Podcasts simultaneously, including support for Apple Podcasts video monetization. 

Wednesday, May 20, 2026 | 4:40 - 5:10 PM | Brand Works Stage at The Podcast Show London 2026

Podcasting has evolved from a direct response channel into a complex media ecosystem spanning video, programmatic buying, social amplification and cross-platform monetization. While new opportunities continue to emerge, measurement has become increasingly fragmented.

Join Matt Drengler (Podscribe) and Ashley Simmons (Ad Results Media) at The Podcast Show London as they discuss the evolution of podcast ad measurement and how advertisers can balance growth, accountability and performance amid expanding platforms, monetization paths and measurement silos.

While they may not be top story material, the articles below from this week are definitely worth your time: