Podcasting’s Multi-Format Future | Sharon Taylor #659

April 15, 2026 ~ Rob Greenlee ~ Leave a comment

Podcasting is entering a new phase, and this episode goes straight into the infrastructure, business models, and platform shifts shaping what comes next.

On episode 659 of The New Media Show, Host and Podcast Hall of Famer Rob Greenlee shares the microphone with Sharon Taylor, Chief Revenue Officer at Triton Digital (Spreaker & Omny Studio), for a deep conversation about where the podcasting market is heading right now.

Sharon brings years of experience from Omny Studio, Triton Digital, and Spreaker, making her one of the best people to help unpack what is changing across hosting, monetization, video, AI, advertiser demand, and measurement.

We talk through why podcasting is not simply becoming video-first, even as video becomes a bigger part of how shows are discovered and monetized.

Sharon makes a strong case that audio remains at the center of the medium, but the future is clearly becoming more multi-format. That means creators, publishers, and platforms need to think differently about how they distribute content, measure audience behavior, and build sustainable business models for both audio and video.

A big part of this conversation focuses on Triton Digital’s role in the market today and why its combination of Omny Studio, Spreaker, and broader ad tech infrastructure makes it an important player in podcasting’s next chapter.

Sharon explains the unique roots of Omny Studio as a platform built for large-scale broadcast and enterprise publishing needs, while Spreaker helped pioneer early podcast programmatic monetization for creators. That combination gives Triton a unique perspective on both professional publishing and creator-driven growth.

We also spend time on Apple’s HLS video move and what it may mean for podcasting’s future. Sharon shares how Triton had already been preparing for a broader video environment and why Apple’s support for HLS is such a meaningful shift.

We discuss how HLS could improve flexibility around delivery, ad insertion, and measurement, while still raising important questions about RSS, open distribution, and whether major platforms may slowly pull podcasting into more platform-specific publishing models over time.

Another major topic in this episode is trust.

From programmatic advertising to AI-generated content to labeling and transparency, Sharon and I explore how podcasting can continue to grow without losing the authentic connection that made the medium valuable in the first place.

We both agree that podcasting still has enormous strength as an audio-led medium, but the industry is now balancing openness, innovation, and monetization in ways that will define the next few years.

This is a wide-ranging and important discussion for anyone watching the evolution of podcasting, video, ad tech, platform power, and the future of open media.

Topics covered

– Why Triton Digital matters in podcasting right now
– Sharon Taylor’s path from Omny Studio to Triton CRO
– What Triton is seeing in audio versus video audience behavior
– Why podcasting is becoming multi-format, not simply video-first
– How Omny Studio and Spreaker fit different parts of the publishing market
– What Apple’s HLS video move changes for publishers and hosting platforms
– Why advertiser confidence and better measurement matter more than ever
– The future of RSS, open podcasting, and platform fragmentation
– How AI-generated content is affecting publishing growth and industry trust
– Where Sharon sees the next big opportunities for podcast growth

Guest

Sharon Taylor is the Chief Revenue Officer at Triton Digital. She was appointed to the CRO role in August 2025 after helping lead Triton’s podcast and content delivery efforts. Before joining Triton, Sharon was CEO of Omny Studio and played a key role in building it into one of the leading enterprise podcast platforms before its acquisition by Triton Digital.

Triton Digital: https://www.tritondigital.com/
Spreaker: https://www.spreaker.com/
Omny Studio: https://omnystudio.com/

Host

Rob Greenlee is a 2017 Podcast Hall of Famer, Chairperson of the Podcast Hall of Fame, and leader behind Trust Factor Lab and Trust Creators Community at M3Linked.

New Media Show: https://newmediashow.com/
Rob Greenlee: https://robgreenlee.com/
Podcast Hall of Fame: https://podcasthall.com/
Trust Creators Community: https://m3linked.com/

Supporters:

Get a $10 StreamYard Video Recording and Live Streaming tool Discount using this LINK – https://streamyard.com/pal/c/5606177711325184

Podcasting pros use Podpage – Build a podcast or video show website that updates itself and showcases your show beautifully. Start for just $12/month! –>podpage.com?via=adore

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Blubrry | Podcast Index | RSS

Podcast (audio): Play in new window | Download

Local Podcasts in a Growing Video World | David Plotz #658

April 11, 2026 ~ Rob Greenlee ~ Leave a comment

New Media Show #658 with David Plotz If you are trying to understand where podcasting may still have real, untapped opportunities in 2026 and beyond, this is one of those conversations that point to an important answer: Local.

On Episode 658 of The New Media Show, Host Podcast Hall of Famer Rob Greenlee shares a microphone and a video camera with guest David Plotz, founder and CEO of CityCast.fm and co-host of the Political Gabfest podcast from Slate, to:

Explore what local podcasts can become in a media environment increasingly shaped by video, platforms, social discovery, and changing audience habits. The conversation starts with local audio, but it quickly opens into something bigger: trust, emotional connection, local relevance, and the question of whether city-based media may be one of the strongest growth areas left in podcasting.

David frames City Cast as a network of daily local podcasts, newsletters, social content, and events, built around helping people feel more connected to the cities they live in.

The real takeaway in this episode is that local podcasting is not simply a smaller version of national podcasting. It operates under a different set of strengths and constraints.

Local Podcasting may never offer the same scale as national audio, but it can offer something more personal and durable: a trusted daily relationship grounded in place. That becomes a powerful differentiator at a time when many creators and media companies are chasing reach but struggling to build loyalty.

David brings a rare combination to this topic because he is not just theorizing about local media from the outside. He has built and led major editorial organizations, co-hosted one of podcasting’s longest-running political shows, and is now running one of the clearest experiments in local podcast-first media.

In the episode, he explains that podcasting’s deepest strength is not raw information delivery but feeling, intimacy, and connection. He argues that podcasting works when people are not just informed but emotionally connected to the speakers and the place being discussed. That idea becomes the foundation for how City Cast approaches local media.

One of the most useful parts of this episode is hearing David describe what City Cast is actually trying to replace and what it is not.

He makes clear that City Cast is not primarily a breaking-news operation. Instead, it builds on an existing local news ecosystem and tries to become the smartest, most interesting, and most delightful daily conversation about what matters in a city. That distinction matters. It means City Cast is not trying to be a direct substitute for newspapers or broadcast radio in every function. It is trying to become additive, conversational, and habit-forming in ways that better fit the strengths of podcasting.

From there, the conversation moves into the central tension of the episode: if podcasting is so strong at local trust and emotional connection, why is local podcasting still so hard to scale?

David is candid about the addressable audience being smaller, discovery being difficult, and the economics still being figured out. Those are not minor obstacles. They are the core business problem. City Cast’s challenge is not simply editorial quality. It is proving that local podcast audiences are valuable, engaged, and commercially meaningful enough to support a durable business.

That leads directly into the video. One of the strongest strategic insights in the episode is David’s acknowledgment that City Cast did not lean into social and video early enough. He says plainly that the company is now correcting that. The reason is not that audio has failed. The reason is that discovery increasingly happens elsewhere.

Younger audiences find local information through social media, YouTube, and short-form feeds. Audio may still be the best format for relationships and routines, but video and social are becoming essential for visibility, especially among younger audiences.

A core theme in this episode is that the real opportunity may not be “local podcasts” as a narrow category, but local media brands built around podcasts. City Cast is already moving in that direction through newsletters, events, social distribution, and membership. David’s description of the “Neighbors” membership concept is especially revealing. It shows that the City Cast brand is not just about delivering content. It is about building a sense of mutuality, place, and civic belonging. That is a different ambition than simply growing downloads. It is also where local podcasting may have an edge over broader media.

This episode ultimately lands on a simple reality: local podcasting is real, but it is not easy. Audio still has a unique role to play in building trust and connection, but it is no longer enough to rely on audio alone for growth and discovery.

The winning local media brands may be the ones that understand how to keep audio at the center while surrounding it with the right mix of video, social, newsletters, and community. In that sense, this conversation is not just about local podcasts. It is about where the media gets human again.

Quick Q & A Answers

What is City Cast trying to build?
A local media network built around daily city podcasts, newsletters, social content, and events that help people feel more connected to where they live.

Is local podcasting a replacement for local newspapers or radio?
Not exactly. David describes it more as additive than as a replacement, with podcasting playing to conversation, feeling, and connection rather than to pure breaking news.

Why is local podcasting hard to build as a business?
The audience is geographically limited, discovery is difficult, and the economics are still being worked out. City Cast is trying to prove that highly engaged local audiences can support a durable model.

Does video matter for local podcasts?
Yes, increasingly as a discovery-and-growth layer. David says City Cast came to social and video later than it should have and is now correcting that.

What is the deeper advantage of local audio?
Its strength is emotional connection, intimacy, daily relevance, and trust. That may matter more as audiences seek media that feels useful and human.

Video Chapters:

00:00 Welcome and local media framing
02:26 David Plotz joins the show
03:00 Slate Political Gabfest history
07:39 Live events and audience connection
11:47 Podcasting as emotion and intimacy
16:27 Why City Cast exists
18:07 How City Cast serves cities
20:12 Why City Cast is additive, not a replacement
25:00 The economics of local podcasting
26:22 Washington DC and local news opportunity
29:12 Local versus diaspora audiences
32:02 Your City Could Be Better
33:14 Local advertising and audience value
35:12 Why local podcasting is harder than it looks
37:02 Social discovery and local media habits
38:07 Video and Apple Podcasts
44:40 City Cast video workflow challenge
47:28 Graham Holdings and Megaphone context
51:12 Which cities work best for City Cast
53:12 Public radio overlap and younger audiences
54:40 Why City Cast missed the video early
57:27 Audio, video, and multimedia future
01:00:11 Neighbors and local trust
01:01:53 Politics, balance, and civic voice
01:05:18 Events and community building
01:06:36 Wrap up

Links

Guest David Plotz Links

City Cast: https://citycast.fm/
City Cast Mission: https://citycast.fm/our-mission
City Cast Membership / Neighbors: https://membership.citycast.fm/
David Plotz LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/david-plotz-ab02164a

Host Rob Greenlee and Show Links

New Media Show: https://newmediashow.com/
Rob Greenlee: https://robgreenlee.com/
Trust Factor Lab: https://trustfactorlab.com/
Adore Creator Network: https://adorenetwork.com/
Podcast Hall of Fame: https://podcasthall.com/
Rob Greenlee YouTube: https://youtube.com/@robgreenlee
Rob Greenlee LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/robgreenlee
Rob Greenlee Instagram: https://instagram.com/robwgreenlee

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Blubrry | Podcast Index | RSS

Podcast (audio): Play in new window | Download

Can Apple Make Video Podcasts Matter? | Jay Nachlis #656

March 25, 2026April 3, 2026 ~ Rob Greenlee ~ Leave a comment

In episode 656 of the New Media Show, Podcast Hall of Famer Rob Greenlee is joined by Jay Nachlis, Media Research VP at Coleman Insights.

“It’s a timely and deeper conversation about Apple Podcasts moving more aggressively into HLS video streaming and what that really means for the future of podcasting, audience behavior, platform competition, and creator strategy in 2026.”

This episode goes far beyond the Apple announcement itself. Jay brings a strong audience research and brand strategy perspective to the conversation, and together we dig into the real question behind all of this: will Apple’s push into video actually change listener and viewer behavior, or is this simply Apple trying to catch up to audience habits that are already being shaped by YouTube and Spotify?

“Apple Podcasts still has major brand recognition in podcasting, but may face an uphill battle in the current environment where YouTube has become the default platform for video-based podcast discovery, and Spotify continues to build a more native monetization and creator ecosystem.”

We talk about how audience habits often outweigh platform features, why consumer perception matters as much as technical innovation, and whether Apple can reclaim any meaningful momentum in a category it helped establish years ago.

We also discuss how this shift is creating a more fragmented publishing environment for creators. Audio and video are no longer just different formats. They increasingly represent different user expectations, different discovery paths, and different monetization opportunities.

“We discuss the growing need for creators to think strategically about separate audio and video feeds, platform-native publishing, HLS streaming delivery, audience experience, and the long-term risks of overreliance on closed ecosystems.”

Jay and I also explore the broader competitive chessboard. That includes YouTube’s dominance in video & video podcast consumption, Spotify’s continued attempts to define its role in both audio and video, and even whether players like Netflix could successfully move into podcast-adjacent content formats. This episode is really about where podcasting is headed as a medium, not just one Apple feature update.

If you are a podcaster, creator, media strategist, advertiser, or platform watcher trying to understand where podcasting, video, discovery, and monetization are all heading next, this is an episode you should not miss.

Chapters:

00:00 Apple Video Podcast Push
00:47 Meet the Hosts
01:56 Apple Streaming Update
03:14 Early Podcasting Era
05:19 YouTube Spotify Takeover
07:05 Can Apple Compete
08:25 Research YouTube Wins UX
10:30 Awareness Drives Usage
12:07 Netflix Podcasting Fit
15:58 Discovery Algorithms Habits
18:10 Apple Video Hidden Toggle
19:26 Audio Quality vs Video
22:22 Brand Content Trust Matrix
24:05 Apple Podcasts Brand Gap
24:51 Differentiation Over Video
25:41 RSS and HLS Debate
27:09 Why Listeners Choose Apple
28:03 Zune Era Video Podcasts
30:07 YouTube Parallel History
30:59 Winning Tech Standards
33:16 Reaching Younger Audiences
36:48 Hosting Costs and HLS
39:05 Creator Burden of Video
41:20 Future Screens in Cars
43:23 Marketing and Discovery Fixes
45:35 Alternative Enclosures Path
46:49 Wrap Up and Where to Follow

Guest Jay Nachlis Links
Jay Nachlis LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaynachlis/
Coleman Insights: https://colemaninsights.com/
Tuesdays with Coleman: https://colemaninsights.com/blog/

Host Rob Greenlee and Show Links
New Media Show: https://newmediashow.com/
Rob Greenlee: https://robgreenlee.com/
Trust Factor Lab: https://trustfactorlab.com/
Adore Creator Network: https://adorenetwork.com/
Podcast Hall of Fame: https://podcasthall.com/
Rob Greenlee YouTube: https://youtube.com/@robgreenlee
Rob Greenlee LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/in/robgreenlee
Rob Greenlee Instagram: https://instagram.com/robwgreenlee

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Android | Blubrry | Podcast Index | RSS

Podcast (audio): Play in new window | Download

Shocking Change: Video, AI, and RSS Podcasting | Dave Jackson #646

January 8, 2026January 9, 2026 ~ Rob Greenlee ~ Leave a comment

In this new episode from a LIVE Jan 7th, 2026 New Media Show, Host RobGreenlee.com is joined by Dave Jackson (School of Podcasting and co-host of Ask the Podcast Coach) to unpack why the current shift toward video and AI feels like an earthquake inside podcasting, while the YouTube creator world treats it like a normal day.

We dig into how creators are now forced to play two games at once: the RSS subscription game and the algorithm discovery game especially for video, and why the definition debates did not matter as much as audience behavior.

Rob and Dave also get practical about what breaks and what endures, including growing frustration with heavy ad loads and pre-roll stacking, the realities of programmatic monetization, and why the first thing a listener should hear is you.

We cover where video delivery and monetization are heading (including HLS and video ad insertion), why “watch something” still defaults to YouTube for most people, and what Apple Podcasts would need to change if it ever wanted to truly reprioritize RSS-based video podcasting again.

Plus, a look at what live content signals in an AI-accelerated era, including the idea of live as proof of life and real-time audience feedback.

Rob also shares reminders about Podfest Expo (Jan 14–18 in Orlando) and the upcoming 2026 Podcast Hall of Fame activity on Jan 16th, 2026 (PodcastHall.com).

Topics Covered:

– Video becoming default across platforms
– AI accelerating the creator loop and increasing pressure to optimize for algorithms
– RSS portability, ownership, and the growing discovery gap
– Programmatic ads, pre-roll backlash, and audience ad tolerance
– HLS, video ad insertion, and why the ad infrastructure is pushing streaming delivery
– Apple Podcasts video discoverability problems and what would need to change
– Netflix exclusivity lessons after the Spotify era of exclusives
– Live as proof of life in a world flooding with synthetic content