Golden Globes Podcasts Revealed, Spotify Expands Audiobook Availability, & More

About this episode

Today in the business of podcasting: • Right Side Up and Sounds Profitable host a free webinar on October 28 about how AI chatbots are changing podcast ad discovery and measurement. It draws on new LLM data from The Podcast Landscape 2026. • IAB Tech Lab finalizes its Podcast Technical Measurement Guidelines v2.3, which clarify download and ad-delivery measurement for audio and video podcasts. CoHost is the first hosting company certified under the new version. • Spotify expands audiobooks from 22 markets to more than 180 by the end of 2026, after its Audiobooks+ add-on passed one million subscribers and $100 million in annual recurring revenue. • Political ad spending for the 2025-26 cycle tops $10 billion as House races drive local demand. New Sounds Profitable research finds one in four likely voters who consume podcasts monthly could be swayed by a candidate’s podcast appearance. • MIDiA Research counts nearly a billion monthly podcast platform users worldwide. YouTube leads with a 32% share, and YouTube and Spotify together hold half of the global market. • The Golden Globes reveal the 30 podcasts eligible for Best Podcast at the 84th ceremony, with 11 new shows joining the l