Facebook Mutes Podcasts: Podcast Advertising Rates Up: Clooney and Audible announce Deal

  

Facebook turns on the Mute Button for Podcasts

Facebook will stop letting people add podcasts to the service starting this week, according to multiple sources. Facebook has said that it will discontinue both its short-form audio product Soundbites and remove its central audio hub.

 In April 2021, Facebook announced with great fanfare various audio efforts during a red-hot market for podcasting and audio in general. But the company’s enthusiasm for podcasting has diminished, Bloomberg News reported last month, and it’s now focused on other initiatives, disappointing some providers.

“We’re constantly evaluating the features we offer, so we can focus on the most meaningful experiences,” a Meta spokesperson said an email. The person added that they didn’t have a specific date on when Soundbites and the audio hub would shut down, but it will be in the “coming weeks.”

In the note to partners, Facebook said it doesn’t plan to alert users to the fact that podcasts will no longer be available, leaving it up to the publishers to decide how they want to disclose that information. Live Audio Rooms will be integrated into Facebook Live, meaning users can choose to go live with just audio or audio and video.

The podcast market has grown crowded in recent years, with growing concern by listeners, advertisers, and networks that podcast content has become a nearly uncontrollable flood of audio, canceling each other out.

 Libsyn Reports that Advertising Rates for Podcasts Increased in April

 

Libsyn, a large podcast hosting and advertising company, has announced that advertising rates for podcasts in April have increased.

 

“Video is an emerging podcasting trend. And we’re seeing creators experiment with multimedia formats by streaming their shows on YouTube and other social media platforms. This not only represents a new revenue opportunity for podcasters, but it’s a secondary channel for advertisers to target and reach an expansive podcast audience,” said Dave Hanley, Chief Revenue Officer at Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast.

 

The following rates, which are denoted as cost per thousand or CPM, are published monthly by Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast, the industry’s premier podcast advertising marketplace that connects advertisers with podcasters. The Company shares the figures to empower the two communities to readily monitor market pricing and provide greater insight into podcasting advertising as a monetization vehicle.

 

For April 2022, the average CPM rate was $24.01 for a 60-second ad spot.

 

The three highest CPM categories in April based on delivered advertising were:

§  Business: $28

§  Kids and Family: $28

§  Health and Fitness: $27

 

According to AdvertiseCast, podcasting continues its meteoric rise in popularity with 73% of Americans ages 12 and up – an estimated 209 million people – reporting that they’ve listened to a podcast in the last month. That’s a 68% uptick from 2021, according to The Infinite Dial® 2022 findings released by Edison Research. 

 

This uptick was primarily driven by listeners age 35+, who increased their monthly online audio listening by 13% year over year. Moreover, audience composition is also becoming increasingly diverse, striking more of a balance in terms of gender (53% male, 46% female, 1% non-binary) and ethnicity with increases in Black (16%), Hispanic (16%), and Asian (3%) monthly listenership. As a result, the growing popularity of podcasts has increased its attractiveness as an advertising medium.

 

George Clooney announces Deal with Audible

Movie star and business mogul George Clooney has announced an initiative into audio.Smokehouse Pictures, the production company founded by Clooney and film producer Grant Heslov, has announced an exclusive, multi-project development deal with Audible. As part of this collaboration, Audible and Smokehouse Pictures will create a slate of audio-only original projects. 

"We have both been avid listeners for many years, and we couldn’t be happier to team up with Audible to produce original content exclusively for this terrific service,” said Clooney and Heslov in a joint statement.

“We are absolutely delighted to team up with George Clooney, Grant Heslov, and the brilliant and creative minds at Smokehouse Pictures,” said Zola Mashariki, Head of Audible Studios in the announcement. “They’ve ignited conversations and imaginations on big and small screens alike— and we can’t wait to introduce our worldwide listeners to Smokehouse’s distinctive, high-caliber brand of storytelling.”