Music streaming apps hit saturation: As downloads stall, platforms bulk up bundles to justify higher fees and retain paying fans.

Digital media dominates daily consumption, but legacy formats still hold key moments. As streaming, audio, and social media surge, advertisers face a fragmented landscape where attention is growing—but harder to capture.

Spotify is expanding to visual ads with carousel units and playlist takeovers that aim to prove it can rival YouTube on performance.

What began as an audio-only medium now spans video formats, connected TV screens, and creator-driven content that rivals traditional television.

This report explores how newcomers and multigeneration Canadians of Chinese, Filipino, and South Asian descent differ from total Canada in streaming, social media, audio, and ad engagement.

67% of top sports podcast shows are for niche sports, where high engagement, loyal fans, and off-season spikes lift ROI.

AI is already disrupting programmatic. Generative search is reshaping web traffic, while agentic buying and curated deals redraw how ads are bought and sold. Expect more automation and more premium pipes, but tougher transparency tradeoffs.

48% of worldwide B2B marketers say interactive experiences, live/virtual events, and video content make thought leadership more impactful, according to July 2025 data from Ascend2 and TopRank Marketing.

Our analysts (or “bakers”) will compete in a Great British Bake Off–style episode, discussing how new standards will unlock agentic ad buying and selling, and how (and why) YouTube will benefit most from the surge in video podcasts. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host Marcus Johnson, along with Senior Analyst Ross Benes and Principal Analyst Yory Wurmser. Listen everywhere, and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

56% of weekly podcast listeners say podcast hosts are the type of influencer that matters most to them, nearly triple the share who say the same about social media influencers, according to an October survey from Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights.

This report presents five of the most intriguing and/or under-the-radar forecasts for 2026 that businesses should be aware of, as compiled by our forecasting team.

Podcast engagement and streaming variety are fueling rapid digital audio growth in Canada as listeners spend far more time with these digital platforms than with traditional radio.

Podcasts are emerging as the most credible, persuasive arm of the creator economy. According to Acast, 84% of listeners have changed their mind because of a podcaster, yet 75% don’t view them as influencers—proof that credibility, not celebrity, fuels podcast influence. Two-thirds of listeners say they’ve purchased something a host recommended. Despite the rise of video, most podcast engagement remains audio-first, underscoring the medium’s intimacy and staying power. For advertisers, podcasts offer a rare trifecta—attention, authenticity, and conversion—at a time when influencer fatigue and algorithmic feeds erode audience trust elsewhere.

The global mediascape has shifted rapidly over the past decade and continues to change as new formats attract users of all ages. The 2025 Global Media Intelligence (GMI) report is a deep dive into country-level and regional habits relating to time spent with media, media adoption, and device ownership.

On today’s podcast episode, we discuss why Spotify is still considered the king of audio streaming, why advertising is not working out quite as they’d hoped (yet), and how they might become a social platform. Join Senior Director of Podcasts and host, Marcus Johnson, and Senior Editor, Daniel Konstantinovic. Listen everywhere and watch on YouTube and Spotify.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution will publish its final print edition on December 31, 2025, before becoming a digital-only outlet on January 1, 2026. Publisher Andrew Morse said the move will allow resources to flow into newsletters, podcasts, video, and a new mobile app. The 157-year-old paper has already posted double-digit digital subscription growth and expanded statewide reach. The shift mirrors broader industry trends: nearly half of US adults never read print newspapers, while digital ad spend continues to climb. AJC’s farewell to print underscores the inevitable math: audiences and advertisers are digital, and adaptation is survival.

Apple is partnering with digital platform TuneIn to strengthen its radio reach and better compete with Spotify, per the Wall Street Journal. The move will see Apple distribute its radio stations across connected cars and home speakers globally and marks the first time Apple’s current radio stations will be accessible outside of the Apple Music app. Apple’s radio push could breathe life into its struggling streaming units, attracting listeners who haven’t considered Apple Music and potentially drawing in advertisers who are looking for access to Apple’s library.

The news: Podcast ads are turning passive listeners into active consumers and driving measurable outcomes for brands, per a Nielsen study. Podcast campaigns led to a 10-point boost in brand awareness; an 8-point increase in information-seeking; and a 6-point increase in recommendation and purchase intent. Our take: Podcasting’s high engagement and success for brands makes it an increasingly critical investment—but key considerations must be kept in mind. Host-read ads perform best. Brands are most likely to thrive with podcast ads when the host is an actual user of the products advertised and comes across as authentic.