The Podosphere's daily intelligence brief for podcast industry operators.
Issue #57 · Tuesday, November 10, 2026 · 3 min read
Podnews pushed hosting companies to act on copied feeds today, and Spreaker became the first to commit to real changes, while Magellan AI's new benchmark shows advertisers still pouring money into podcasts despite rising ad loads.
Today: Hosting cleans house · A code takes shape · Spend grows, so do ads · Engaged views win out · New boss at Sirius
1. Spreaker commits to fighting copied feeds, signs Podnews migration code
Triton Digital's Spreaker will email original feed owners when a show is imported, check Apple and Podcast Index APIs for existing feeds before publication, and add an extra approval step before monetizing any flagged duplicate, with changes targeted by year end. Spreaker joins RSS.com, Transistor and RedCircle in committing to Podnews' new Code of Practice for podcast migrations, which bars monetization or one-click distribution until a redirect is confirmed.
Why it matters: Any hosting company still courting migrations without redirect checks and locked-tag support now looks out of step with where the industry is setting the bar.
→ podnews.net · via Sounds Profitable
2. Podnews drafts an industry code for podcast migrations
James Cridland published a code of practice requiring hosts to respect the podcast:locked tag, notify original creators by email when a feed is imported, and withhold monetization and one-click distribution until a 30x redirect is confirmed. RSS.com, Transistor, RedCircle and Spreaker have all committed to follow it.
Why it matters: Hosting platforms that don't sign on risk looking like the path of least resistance for anyone trying to profit off someone else's show.
→ podnews.net · via Podnews
3. Podcast ad spend up 18% in Q3 as ad loads keep creeping higher
Magellan AI's analysis of 102,059 podcast episodes found ad spend rose 18% year over year in Q3, while average ad load climbed to 8.86% from 8.75% in Q2. Grocery spend jumped 42%, led by Whole Foods Market, Walmart and Instacart, and seven of the top 10 Q3 spenders repeated from Q2.
Why it matters: Ad sellers can point to real category growth, but rising ad loads give buyers and networks a number to watch before listener fatigue becomes a retention problem.
→ magellan.ai · via Sounds Profitable
4. Podcasts show the smallest gap in YouTube's new view count, study finds
Mondo Metrics' Nick Cicero compared YouTube's new public-view count against engaged views across 1,139 channels and found podcasts had the smallest lift at 1.61x, versus 2.03x for broadcasters. Cicero argues the finding backs what podcast ad agencies already did: price host-read inventory on engaged views, not the inflated public count.
Why it matters: Sellers who still quote public views to buyers are offering a number that flatters smaller shows and clips far more than it flatters theirs.
→ mondometrics.com · via Sounds Profitable
5. SiriusXM taps Tubi's Anjali Sud as next CEO
SiriusXM named Tubi CEO Anjali Sud its new chief executive, effective January 1, 2027, succeeding Jennifer Witz, who stays on as an advisor through the end of 2027.
Why it matters: A streaming-video leader taking over one of podcasting's biggest ad-supported platforms signals where SiriusXM may look for its next growth lever.
→ podnews.net · via Sounds Profitable
Worth a Click
- Caloroga Media opens Linnet to all creators — Free access through December 1 for the AI production platform's entry tiers.
- Spotify podcasts land on United seatback screens — Passengers can now log into personal Spotify accounts in flight via QR code.
→ Browse all 711 companies at thepodosphere.com
We read so you don't have to. Primary sources today: Podnews by James Cridland · Sounds Profitable by Bryan Barletta.
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