The Best Real Estate in Podcasting, Ofcom Publishes U.K. Listening Data, & More

Today in the business of podcasting:

• Tom Webster closes out The Podcast Atlas series by arguing the email newsletter is the only piece of real estate a podcast creator actually owns, giving shows a direct line to listeners that survives algorithm changes.
• Mondo Metrics founder Nick Cicero explains what podcasters can learn from the sports social industry about selling social clips as sponsorship inventory rather than giving them away.
• Ofcom's Media Nations 2026 report finds 53% of U.K. adults listen to speech audio, YouTube is now the most-used platform for any audio content, and only 45% of listeners think podcasts carry too many adverts.
• Steve Goldstein writes for RAIN News that the download is an obsolete metric that can inflate audience figures by up to 50%, and that verified impression metrics could unlock $1 billion to $2 billion in new ad revenue.
• SiriusXM launches a $5-per-month Sports Pass on September 1, bundling NFL, MLB, NBA, and NHL games with local Audacy stations, ESPN Radio, and hundreds of sports podcasts.

To find links to these, and every article covered in today's episode, click here. You can also subscribe to The Download's newsletter to receive the full issue straight to your email inbox every day.