YouTube has announced that they will no longer support 30-second ads that viewers can’t skip, starting 2018. No more. Nada. Zip. Why? A YouTube spokesman said… We’re committed to providing a better ads experience for users online. As part of that, we’ve decided to stop supporting 30-second unskippable ads as of 2018 and focus instead on formats that work well for both users and advertisers. This change will not affect shorter ads – the 20-second videos and six-second bumpers

The power of audio is more than just music or even “spoken word.” With his partner Larry Fessenden, Glenn McQuaid is the co-creator of the extraordinary contemporary audio drama series “Tales from Beyond the Pale,” featuring voices you’ll recognize from artists like Vincent D’Onofrio, Sean Young, and the late, great horror legend Angus Scrimm. In addition to writing and directing many episodes of Tales, Glenn is also well known for his feature film work – he was writer/direct

What can the audio space – radio, online radio, and podcasters, learn from Jesse Thorn? Jesse is the host and producer of some very popular radio shows and podcasts, Bullseye and Jordan, Jesse, Go!, and the co-host and producer of Judge John Hodgman and the proprietor of MaximumFun.org. He founded the show that became Bullseye way back in 2000. In 2007, the show began to be distributed by Public Radio International, making Jesse the youngest national host in public radio hist

I love “future of radio” discussions, even though the premise of the phrase is completely wrong. Radio people care about “the future of radio” – listeners don’t. Indifference to what listeners really care about is why Clear Channel didn’t acquire Pandora when it was bargain-priced. It’s why there are many podcasts that sound like radio shows and enjoy radio-sized audiences but have never played on a radio station. The issue isn’t about the “future of radio” per se, but rather

During this week of Thanksgiving (and in the spirit of giving thanks), I wanted to share with you one of the most important conversations from the 2016 hivio audio future festival. If you’re a radio broadcaster, this will change the way you view contesting forever. Ryan Cummins is the Co-Founder/Co-CEO of Omaze, a cause marketplace that raises money and awareness for charity by offering the chance to win once-in-a-lifetime experiences. Many of my clients know I’m a huge fan o

Every high profile brand and personality must now think of themselves as digital brands, but how? Chris Balfe has the answer. He’s a Partner at Red Seat Ventures. Red Seat partners with high profile individuals and brands to build unique digital businesses. Initial clients include Premiere Networks and motion picture producer Blumhouse. Prior to founding Red Seat, Balfe was President & COO of Mercury Radio Arts as well as CEO of TheBlaze. TheBlaze pioneered a brand new direct

How can radio and other media brands do social media right? Why not ask the expert whose clients include NBC Universal, News Corp, and several OTT video players? Todd Beck is CEO & Founder of Beck Media & Marketing, the agency dozens of TV, OTT, and Tech companies look to for potent digital strategies that get results. Beck Media’s areas of focus span content creation and exploitation on TV, web, mobile, and social media, and whatever medium comes next. Todd was one of the fe

Andy Bowers is the Chief Content Officer of Panoply, a leading podcast network and an innovator in the space. In this Q&A from hivio 2016, the audio future festival, I talk with Andy about Panoply’s business model, how the company works with advertisers and brands, and the future of podcasting as a business. Among the questions Andy addresses: Describe Panoply For advertisers, Panoply is more about impact than scale. How is that distinction important and how does it work for

If ever there was a brand built on proprietary content, that brand is ESPN. Across all platforms, ESPN Audio offers more than 9,000 hours of talk and event content annually, reaching nearly 24 million listeners per week on more than 450 stations. Traug Keller is ESPN’s Senior Vice President, Production, Business Divisions, and he leads three business units at the company: ESPN Audio, ESPN Local and the ESPN Talent Office. For ESPN Audio, Traug oversees all aspects of the busi

Recently I was working on a project for a cable TV network involving digital content. They had only one rule: No audio, no way, no how. Why? Mostly because of their belief that of all the digital content elements they could present – text, images, video – the one that is least likely to be shared is audio. And the less the content is shared, the less impact it will have, and the less tune-in potential to their TV content they will see. In TV, as in radio, it’s all about ratin

Howard Lapides is a veteran of radio. As CEO of Lapides Entertainment, Howard is now managing writer/producers, talk show hosts, authors, comedians, and actors, as well as executive producing a variety of shows, like VH-1’s highly successful “Celebrity Rehab” franchise, Comedy Central’s “The Man Show,” and “LoveLine” on MTV. Among Howard’s first words to the audience: “Radio as you learned it is gone, but radio is not gone.” Howard is a keen observer of the radio space and a

If you’re trying to grow radio ad revenue (or ad revenue from any audio or video platform), you should watch this presentation from Veritone Media’s Ryan Steelberg.  It will change forever your sense of what you can sell and how you can sell it. Ryan was one of the speakers at hivio 2016. And if you’re trying to spread your content across platforms (and who isn’t?), this video is for you, too. Veritone Media’s big data solution ingests and indexes all of your content, and tha

Valerie Geller is a talent coach second to none. She works worldwide, coaching personalities in podcasting, radio, and television. In this standout Q&A from hivio, the audio future festival, I talk with Valerie about how to coach and develop great talent and where to find the future of audio talent. Among the questions we address: How can talent communicate more powerfully? How can talent tell stories without making it “all about me?” How to sustain engagement over a period o

Lizzie Widhelm is Pandora’s Senior Vice President of Ad Product Sales & Strategy where she spearheads the team that brings advertising products to life and to market. At this Q&A from hivio, the audio future festival, Lizzie talks about the evolving Pandora platform and how it’s changing its sales strategy to meet the future head-on. Here are some of the questions we cover: Why is this evolution of Pandora so important? How is the new shape of Pandora likely to be different f

Think digital and radio are two separate worlds and digital learnings can’t make audio content across platforms better and more popular? Think again. Anya Grundmann is NPR’s Vice President for Programming and Audience Development. She leads NPR’s programming center and its strategy for program acquisition, evaluation, and development. In this remarkable presentation from hivio, Anya shares what NPR has learned from its digital efforts and how those digital efforts have enhanc

Sarah van Mosel is Chief Commercial Officer for Acast, a tech platform that helps podcast creators profit, helps audiences find great content, and helps advertisers reach engaged listeners. Much has been said about the rise in podcast usage, but not nearly as much has been said about the rise in interest among advertising for podcasting’s burgeoning audience and how the podcast ecosystem is rising to meet – and create – that demand. Sarah begins with an overview of the podcas

How do radio, online radio, and podcasting fit into the larger pattern of tech trends washing over today’s audiences? What’s the power of audio in the first place? Peter Kafka is a great person to ask. Peter is Senior Editor for Media at Re/code, the digital news platform launched by Kara Swisher and Walt Mossberg. Peter has been covering media and technology since 1997 for Forbes, forbes.com, and the brand that became Business Insider. He is the host of the “Recode Media wit

Millennials are the future, but how do they really use audio platforms: Radio, online radio, podcasting, etc? And how do these platforms fit into their fast-changing lives? We recruited a special panel of Millennials at hivio 2016 so you could hear from 20-somethings themselves, and some of what attendees heard was shocking. When asked if anyone has an actual radio in their home, one panelist compared that idea to owning a laserdisc player! Among the questions these Millennia

Audio advertising sucks. It just does. Face it. But it doesn’t have to.Audio advertising sucks. But it doesn't have to. #hivio Click To Tweet That’s a main takeaway from new research into the types of audio advertising listeners prefer. This research was presented for the first time anywhere at the recent hivio conference in LA, and you can watch the entire presentation (it’s only 13 minutes long) below. This is required viewing if you’re in the business of selling ads to age

hivio 2016 is history now, but if you missed the live stream of day 2, you can catch up on a spectacular recording of it here (Day 1 is at that same link): Who will you see? Andy Bowers, Panoply’s Chief Content Officer, and a man at the center of the podcasting revolution Howard Lapides, talent manager to Dr. Drew and many others who have made the transition from radio to TV – with some pointed words for radio broadcasters Peter Kafka, Re/code’s Senior Editor/Media on what th