Month: June 2023

Triton Digital, the global technology and services provider to the digital audio, podcast, and broadcast radio industries, announced that it has acquired Manadge, an advertising intelligence platform that specialized in programmatic advertising, Manadge will enable Triton Digital publishers and demand partners to see advertising-related data and analyze performance in real-time via an intuitive analytics platform.

With this acquisition, Triton Digital is diversifying its portfolio as Manadge offers analysis and comparison dashboards and KPIs for programmatic market participants as well as direct orders. Integrated with over 60 Supply Side Platforms (SSPs) and ad servers, Manadge offers real-time philosophy, Manadge provides agnostic and unbiased reporting the simplifies the recording and tracking of advertising revenues, leveraging an elegant UI, with expansive graphics and change alert notifications.

“Through this acquisition, we further demonstrate our commitment to providing robust tools to enable growth in the global audio industry,” says John Rosso, President and CEO, Triton Digital. “The Manadge platform will enable Triton’s publisher, sales house, and demand partners to better analyze advertising data and use Manadge’s powerful UI to make data driven decisions for their business.”

“At Manadge we give companies the ability to increase resources and support, expand into new markets, and innovate faster than they could before,” says Nathan Venezia, Founder and CEO, Manadge. “We are excited to be joining a team that truly understands our vision and to be providing Triton Digital a better way to analyze and track advertising revenue for all audio types.”

As part of the acquisition, the Manadge team will join Triton Digital’s team, bringing a high level of talent and expertise to Triton’s product and engineering efforts.

Acast,  the world’s most valuable podcast marketplace, is announcing is announcing the launch of Acast+ Access. This technology gives any company with an existing paid subscription offering the ability to add exclusive podcast benefits. 

New research shows that there is a significant, lucrative opportunity for publishers and other companies to integrate podcasts into their current subscriptions. According to a recent Acast survey, more than a quarter of consumers (27%) would be more likely to sign up for a subscription if they also received podcast benefits as part of that subscription. More than a fifth of consumers (21%) would be willing to pay even more to get the added podcast benefits.

With the launch of Acast+ Access, companies with existing membership offerings – including news publishers, media organizations, streaming services, and more – can now integrate podcast benefits into the paywall they already use for their subscribers. 

Ross Adams, CEO at Acast, said: “Acast+ Access is a game-changer for companies that want to increase their overall subscription revenue and make their offering even more attractive to consumers. As more and more audiences seek premium podcast content, our technology allows providers to easily meet that need and deepen their relationship with their customers. And for companies not already incorporating podcasts into their subscription strategy, this is one of the easiest ways to rally new subscribers immediately.”

Yasmin Bassi, Senior Product Manager at Acast, said: “With Acast+ Access is a game-changer for companies the most powerful, centralized solution for all their podcast needs – allowing them to manage podcast advertising, distribution, and and subscriptions seamlessly in one single, easy-to-use platform. It isn’t only a great thing for publishers, but for the audiences, who can sign up to a company’s subscription effortlessly and immediately access subscriber-only podcasts on their app of choice.”

Acast+ Access allows companies to upgrade their current content (e.g. paywalled episodes, extended episodes, full series), personalized intros and outs, archived content, early access to content, and more. Subscriber can then access those benefits on their podcast app in listening platform of choice, including Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, the web, and any other platform that supports private RSS feeds.

Steve Lanham – Head of Podcasts at History Hit said: “History Hit has always aimed to make history more accessible in the digital age, and podcasts are a huge part of the mission. Through Acast+ Access, we can offer listeners more of the audio they love, giving them additional access to fascinating stories and interviews from the world’s leading historians and experts.”

Acast+ Access is based on an earlier iteration of the company’s technology of a similar name (“Acast Access”). It has been rebuilt to now allow clients to offer even more podcast benefits developed through the Acast+ technology, such as ad-free listening and early access to content, and access to bolstered analytics. Acast earns a fee for each private podcast feed activated by the client’s paying subscribers.

Acast+ Access is available now. Companies looking to learn more or use the technology can sign up by visiting https://go.acast.com/access.

Reddit has informed moderators of protesting communities that are still private that they will lose their mod status by the end of the week, according to messages seen by The Verge. If a moderator tells Reddit they are interested in “actively moderating” the subreddit, the company says it will “take your request into consideration.”

Here is the full message, which we have confirmed was sent to moderators of at least two subreddits:

After sending a modmail message on June 27, 2023, your mod team indicated that you do not want to reopen the [name of subreddit] community. This is a courtesy notice to let you know that you will lose moderator status in the community by end of week. If you reply to let us know you’re interested in actively…

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AMA (A Million Ads), the global leader in dynamic creative and personalization for digital audio advertising, announced the launch of its innovative AI-powered product features, Studio.AI, designed to further enhance the speed and precision of the AMA dynamic decisioning engine. The new solution intelligently syncs audio files with script lines and selects relevant data triggers for highly-personalized ad experiences and is available for use across leading audio platforms, including Spotify, Pandora, Acast and iHeart.

The digital audio advertising market has skyrocketed, fueled by consumer adoption of premium content through music streaming services and podcasts, increased programmatic availability of inventory for advertisers, and advertiser interest in investing in privacy-safe channels. In 2023, digital audio ad investments are expected to surpass $10 billion, and within the next four years, will climb to nearly $13 billion. To continue to unlock growth, particularly form new and smaller brand advertisers, however, the production and targeting of campaigns must become more intelligently automated and data-driven.

“Brands, big and small should be equipped with creative capabilities enabling them to develop experiences that are scalable, performant and cost-effective,” said Steve Dunlop, Founder and CEO of AMA. “We are introducing AI that, makes it easier to build and launch campaigns that are tailored and high-performing, thereby reducing the barriers to entry for advertising on digital audio.”

Enter the Studio.AI product suite. Built into AMA’s flagship platform, AMA Studio, this suite activates AI to:

Effortless Audio-Script Synchronization

Studio.AI streamlines the creative process for producers by automatically matching the ideal audio voice elements to each script, ensuring a seamless and engaging listening experience for users. With this feature, producers can reduce time-to-live, bring ideas to life quicker, and reach audiences with the benefits of dynamic content faster than ever before.

Hyper-Personalization with Data Triggers

Studio.AI enables advertisers to deliver tailored and relevant audio ads to listeners by choosing the best data triggers such as location, day/time, weather, device type, events and ad rotation. This technology enhances ad engagement and effectiveness by ensuring each listener receives a unique and contextually relevant ad experience.

“The launch of these AI-powered features marks a significant milestone in digital audio advertising,” said Paul Kelly, CRO of AMA. “By harnessing the power of AI to support enhance and accelerate dynamic creative optimization, we are making incredible leaps in helping advertisers connect with listeners, delivering highly personalized and effective experiences and campaigns.”

In addition to these advanced features, AMA is exploring integrations with the powerful AI tools available including OpenAI’s ChatGPT to support creative development. This collaboration will further enable advertisers to craft highly engaging and personalized audio ads, amplifying their campaigns’ impact.

Studio.AI’s features are now available around the world for advertisers taking advantage of audio platforms like Spotify, Pandora, Acast and iHeart among others who are already partnered with AMA. Brands currently using the new AI-powered features include Target, Walmart, Google, and booking.com among others. 

Podcast pioneer Rob Greenlee revealed on 100TV’s “StreamLeader The Report” that he is teaming with StreamYard to advance the company’s commitment to serving podcasters in creating audio and video content.

In his first extended interview about the partnership, Greenlee told 100TV, founder, Ross Brand supports StreamYard’s podcasting industry outreach. 

“I’m incredibly excited to partner with StreamYard,” said Greenlee. “Together, we will revolutionize the way video and audio content is produced and shared, allowing creators to reach wider audiences and maximize their impact via live and on-demand video podcasting.”

A 2017 inductee into the Podcast Hall of Fame, Greenlee has a long history of building partnerships in the podcast industry. He has severed as a senior executive at podcast-hosting companies such as Libsyn, Podbean, PodcastOne, and Spreaker. At Microsoft, Rob led the integration of audio and video podcasts into Windows Media Center, Zune, Xbox, and Windows Phone. InsideRadio selected Greenlee to their list of 2020 Podcast Power Players.

“We are honored to have Rob Greenlee join StreamYard as an official partner,” said StreamYard co-founder Geiger Vandentop. “His deep understanding of the podcasting and new media industry is unparalleled, and his passion for empowering creators resonates strongly with our own values. We believe this partnership will open up new opportunities for our users, enabling them to elevate their content and engage with their audiences like never before.”

StreamYard has added a whole range of features to appeal to podcasters in need of the highest audio quality, such as record-only mode, separate audio tracks, and local device recording. While StreamYard has been popular with podcasting influencers who livestream their shows since 2019, the opportunity to capture a larger share of the podcasting market is within reach, thanks to its professional audio recording tools and the explosion of interest in video podcasting, particularly on YouTube.

“We’re thrilled to see our top live-streaming app and favorite podcast executive joining forces to marry podcasting with live-streaming,” Brand said. “Our shows at 100TV have both video and audio versions. The overwhelming majority of our creators record in StreamYard.” With his experience as a prolific podcast creator and his leadership on the industry’s business side, Greenlee has the rare portfolio to appeal to independent podcasters and major industry brands. Not only can he educate podcasters on the benefits of StreamYard’s full audio and video feature set, Greenlee can help StreamYard’s millions of livestream customers add podcast distribution to their content mix.

Co-founded by Geige Vandentop and Dan Briggs, StreamYard launched its live-streaming studio in 2018. StreamYard grew quickly over the next two years to become the world’s most popular browser-based live-streaming app. StreamYard’s three pillars are 1) ease of use, 2) stability, and 3) professional streams. 

Virtual event company Hopin acquired StreamYard in early 2021. Vandentop and Briggs continue to operate StreamYard, innovating and developing new features to serve better creators while staying true to their three pillars. 

Greenlee hosts “Trust Factor” Mondays at 10 am on ET on 100TV Network. He also co-hosts the “New Media Show,” which has been recorded and streamed live for over a decade and subsequently distributed in audio and video podcast versions.

100TV Network launched in May 2023 as a collaboration of independent creators hosting exclusive shows and supporting each other through cross-promotion and monetization opportunities.

mowPod, a trailblazing entity in the podcasting world announced the promotion of Chase Hattie from Executive Vice President of Business Development to the critical role of Chief Revenue Officer (CRO). Hattie, a crucial pillar of the mowPod team since 2019, has demonstrated exceptional leadership in spearheading revenue growth and team development.

As CRO, Hattie will extend his leadership over the sales team and work in tandem with the C-Suite to enlarge mowPod’s podcasting Ad tech product offerings. This endeavor empowers the podcast community to expand their audience, aligning with mowPod’s mission of democratizing podcasting.

“Chase’s strategic foresight and leadership have been instrumental in growing mowPod’s revenue since he joined the team in 2019,” said Mike Wiston, CEO and Co-founder of mowPOd. “We are thrilled to have him lead our efforts as CRO, especially at this crucial period of aggressive scaling.”

Beyond leading the sales and business development teams, Hattie will also prioritize fostering wider partnerships with podcast networks, hosting platforms, and agencies. He brings to the table a track record of successful team-building, having constructed the existing sales team the has proven pivotal to mowPod’s growth.

This announcement comes on the heels of the recent release of mowPod Boost Self-Serve (boost.mowpod.com), the first self-serve product in podcasting that drives listeners from the open web to podcasts with transparent delivery and reporting. Hattie’s leadership will be crucial as the company seeks to expand its reach and impact in 2023 and beyond.

Meta is planning to let people in the EU directly download apps through Facebook ads, setting the company up to eventually compete with Google and Apple’s app stores.

The new type of ad is set to start as a pilot with a handful of Android app developers as soon as later this year, I’ve learned. Meta sees an opening to try this thanks to new regulation in the EU called the Digital Markets Act (DMA) that is expected to go into effect next spring. It deems Apple and Google as “gatekeepers” and requires that they open up their mobile platforms to alternative methods of downloading apps.

Android technically allows sideloading already, though Google makes it difficult by coupling its in-app billing and licensing with the Play Store, along with…

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It looks like Kobo readers might not lose Pocket integration after all. Mozilla, the maker of Firefox and current owner of Pocket, originally said in a support document that Kobo’s Pocket integration would stop working entirely after August 15th, 2023, when Pocket will require Firefox accounts to log in. In separate statements to The Verge Mozilla and Kobo now say that existing users of the integration will not be affected, and that Kobo would update their devices to use the new logins.

The original announcement that Kobo’s Pocket integration would stop working was reported earlier this week by Goodereader.com and confirmed by The Verge.

Sarah Vasquez, a senior manager for communications at Mozilla, provided the following statement…

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YouTube is throwing a major wrench into video playback for viewers who are using ad blockers. The company has confirmed to The Verge that it’s currently running “a small experiment globally that urges viewers with ad blockers enabled to allow ads on YouTube or try YouTube Premium.”

The statement comes after some people began noticing a new prompt warning that video playback could be cut off if YouTube detects repeated use of ad blocking tools. Android Authority earlier reported on those tests, which prevent viewers from watching more than three videos when an ad blocker is active.

“Ad blocker detection is not new, and other publishers regularly ask viewers to disable ad blockers,” Google spokesperson Oluwa Falodun told The Verge by…

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There is a plethora of new and exciting smartphones that have just come onto the market (or are about to), and it wouldn’t be at all surprising to find out that you are planning to upgrade from your current phone. Google recently introduced its new (and expensive) Pixel Fold, along with its midrange Pixel 7A, while Samsung’s Galaxy S23 Plus is at the top of our list of best Android phones.

Whether you want to go with Samsung, Google, or a different manufacturer, trading in your old phone — or selling it — is a smart way to do that, especially since there are those who will decide instead to buy a lightly used phone from an older generation that will suit their needs without breaking the bank.

If you’ve got an older model and are ready…

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