Business
The Download
The weekly intelligence briefing for podcast industry executives.
Episodes
The archive
30 episodes, newest first.
- $9 Billion and Counting: Murdoch's Podcast Bet, AI Goes Personal, and Celebrity's New MicReid Mercer breaks down the podcast industry's $9.2 billion revenue milestone, James Murdoch's calculated move on Vox, Spotify and Amazon's competing AI personalization plays, and what celebrity podcast launches actually signal about where the money is heading.
- Amazon's Podcast Takeover, Video's Big Bet, and the Measurement Fix the Industry Actually NeedsReid Mercer breaks down Amazon's AI podcast push, the video podcast arms race heating up across Spotify, Amazon, and iHeart, Paramount and HBO's streaming content play, and why the Triton-Nielsen partnership might be the most important deal nobody's talking about.
- James Murdoch, AI Slop, and the Ad Blind Spot Every Buyer Needs to Know AboutThis week: James Murdoch makes his play for Vox's podcast assets, AI-generated content floods Spotify at scale, iHeart posts real revenue growth while the broader ad market stays murky, and the video podcast revolution turns out to be more complicated than the deck slides suggested.
- SiriusXM's Surge, Amazon's AI Hustle, and the Measurement Shift That Changes the Ad GameReid Mercer breaks down SiriusXM's Q1 numbers and YouTube deal, Amazon's AI podcast experiment gone sideways, the video podcasting arms race, and why Nielsen's new media planning integration is quietly reshaping where ad budgets go.
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- Netflix’s Podcast Land Grab, AI Studios, and Where the Ad Money Is Actually GoingReid Mercer breaks down Netflix’s push into prestige podcasts, the rise of AI-first production tools, new data on who is really spending in audio, and what this week’s celebrity moves signal about the future of star-driven shows.
- Patreon’s $629M Shockwave, Spotify’s Discovery Bet, RFK’s Mic Play, and the New Hit FactoriesReid Mercer breaks down Patreon’s $629 million podcast surge, Spotify’s latest discovery gambit, RFK Jr.’s power play with a government-backed show, and how true crime and celebrity deals are quietly rewriting network strategy for 2026.
- Vox on the Block, Apple Goes Full Video, and the Quiet Ad Money No One TracksReid Mercer breaks down the rumored Vox Media podcast sale, Apple’s video podcast push, the quiet resurgence in ad spend, and why new talent formats matter more for your P&L than the press releases let on.
- Amazon Folds Wondery, AI Deepfakes Escalate, and the Battle for Political EarballsReid Mercer breaks down Amazon’s Wondery pivot into Audible, the rising legal and ethical risk of AI in podcasting, the Fox-fueled return of Bill O’Reilly to podcasting, and what new attribution and monetization tools from Magellan AI and Frequency mean for your 2026 revenue plan.
- iHeart’s Podcast Surge, Video’s Identity Crisis, and the Sports Audio Arms RaceReid Mercer breaks down iHeart’s podcast-driven earnings bump, the real economics of the video podcast boom, why sports audio is becoming an arms race, and how shifting listener habits are quietly rewriting ad strategies across the industry.
- The Video Pivot, Apple's Bet, and Why Rich Paul's Podcast Tells You EverythingReid Mercer breaks down the podcast industry's fraught relationship with video—from Apple's new visual experience to Netflix circling creator talent—then stress-tests what celebrity vanity pods and pharma branded content actually signal about where real monetization is headed.
Talent
Talents in this show
Each one has a profile of their own.
About
What the show is
From network strategy and M&A moves to ad tech innovations and monetization tactics, The Download delivers the insider analysis that shapes decisions at the highest levels of audio. Essential listening for leaders at major networks, ad platforms, and anyone building the future of podcasting.
More shows
Elsewhere in the directory
Every one of them is made with Mato.
