HeyJaredThe Download
The weekly intelligence briefing for podcast industry executives. From network strategy and M&A moves to ad tech innovations and monetization tactics, The Download delivers the insider analysis that shapes decisions at the highest levels of audio.
- Indexed episodes, last 90 days
- 12
- Latest publication
- Sep 29, 2026
- Audience
- Checking…
- Earliest in this view
- Jul 7, 2026
Latest episodes
The $2.86 Billion Pool: Why Everyone's Fighting Over the Same Ad Dollars (opens the original)
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U.S. podcast advertising hit $2.86 billion in 2025, up 17.6% year over year according to the IAB and PwC's Internet Advertising Revenue Report. Host Reid Mercer digs beneath that headline number to ask whether the growth is spread evenly across the market or concentrated in a small slice of premium inventory while everyone else competes for what's left. This episode breaks down the CPM split between host-read and programmatic ads, examines how live commerce is pulling attention and dollars into
Follow the Money: Murdoch's $300M Bet, OpenAI's Ad Spend Spike, and the Talent Bidding War (opens the original)
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This episode of The Download examines three separate deals that reveal where new capital is entering podcast audio right now, and why they point to two very different buyers with two very different motives. Host Reid Mercer breaks down James Murdoch's acquisition of a legacy podcast and media bundle, OpenAI's emergence as a serious podcast advertiser, and a fresh round of talent deals that suggest hosts now have real leverage in negotiations. Listeners will come away with a clearer picture of ho
The $100 Million Signal: Jay Shetty, the iHeart Exit, and the New Platform Wars (opens the original)
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This episode breaks down the nine-figure deal that moved Jay Shetty's "On Purpose" off iHeartMedia and into a new home, and what it signals about the shifting economics of premium podcast talent. Host Reid Mercer walks through the audience and revenue trends behind the bidding war, reveals who actually won the deal, and unpacks a separate ownership dispute that shows what happens when talent agreements aren't built to survive disagreement. Listeners will get a clear picture of why platforms are
The Merger Nobody Confirmed: SiriusXM's Numbers, the YouTube Deal, and the iHeart Whisper (opens the original)
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SiriusXM's Q1 2026 numbers look strong on the surface: net income up 20% to $245 million, podcast ad revenue surging 37%, and a new YouTube ad-rep deal positioned as a structural edge over Spotify. This episode digs into why a company with results like these would still need a defensive play, and uncovers the bigger story sitting underneath the earnings headline. Listeners will get the details on unconfirmed merger talks between SiriusXM and iHeart, what a combined entity of that scale could mea
The Ad Stack Land Grab: Murdoch's Vox Play, Sirius's Numbers, and the 44% Ad Load Nobody's Talking About (opens the original)
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Three unrelated headlines turn out to be one story. This episode connects James Murdoch's Lupa Systems acquisition of New York Magazine and the Vox Media Podcast Network, SiriusXM's Q2 revenue report, and Audacy's new exclusive sales deal with MeidasTouch Network to reveal what's really driving value in audio right now: the ad server infrastructure underneath the content. Host Reid Mercer breaks down why these deals aren't really about content at all, tracing the money from Murdoch's $300 millio
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