Looking Beyond the Pre-Roll Ad, Gen Z on Podcast Clips, & More

Today in the business of podcasting:

• The Podcast Study 2026 from Strategic Solutions Research and Point-To-Point Marketing finds new revenue opportunities beyond the traditional podcast ad. Nearly half of the 1,205 U.S. podcast consumers surveyed would join a free VIP club, and 46.7% have bought merchandise or attended an event.
• At Podcast Movement 2026, Amplifi Media’s Steven Goldstein ran a focus group with Gen Z NYU students. They described watching whole podcasts through clips and deciding within 30 seconds whether to keep listening.
• Audioboom reports record Q3 2026 revenue of $23.8 million, up 17% year over year, with Showcase marketplace revenue up 20%. The company plans three to four acquisitions as podcast industry consolidation continues.
• Ad tech and data vendors are preparing for fallout from iOS 27, which made Safari block identity vendors like LiveRamp and The Trade Desk’s ad-serving domain. IAB Tech Lab’s Trusted Server concept is offered as a server-side workaround.

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.