Podstock benchmarks show Spotify podcast streams generate 1.5x more minutes than YouTube views, but discovery spikes push average time spent down across shows.

beehiiv hired Ainsley Rossitto from Paramount Global as Head of Podcasts, as global podcast ad spend heads toward $5 billion and US monthly listeners hit 58%.

Spotify video distribution API is now live on Libsyn, Podigee, Audioboom, Audiomeans, and Podspace, with Apple HLS cross-platform support coming later in 2026.

Amazon brought Alexa+ to Bose speakers on May 5, expanding its AI assistant beyond Echo devices and offering the feature free for Prime members in the U.S.

Stater Bros. partners with In-Store Marketplace and Mood Media to launch programmatic audio across 165 stores, with digital screens planned for later in 2026.

Spotify launched a beta tool on May 7 that lets AI agents like Claude Code generate and save private personal podcasts to user libraries across 2,000 devices.

Edison Research Q1 2026: 13-34 year-olds spend 4h 30m daily with audio, leading all US age groups, as Share of Ear data reveals a widening generational divide.

Amaury Media appoints Azerion to sell digital audio ads for L'Equipe's 15 French sports podcasts, backed by Azerion's proprietary technology infrastructure.