Getting closer to listeners in London – The Short Stack
Friends,
One of the things that so many people love to exclaim as we all head off to events is how we “can’t wait to see friends and partners in real life.” It’s not just fluff; in the wake of the pandemic and life in general becoming more digital every minute, the value of meeting in person – of actually being close to people – can’t be overstated.
It’s probably safe to say that most people think less about physical closeness when it comes to data centers. Understandable – but those in the business of digital audio get it. Computing “at the edge” in this case – i.e., with distribution, data processing, and storage happening in local “points of presence” (POPs) that are physically closer to people around the world – makes for better, more seamless listener experiences. Who wants to wait around for their favorite podcast to play? Nobody.
So while the average listener doesn’t think about edge computing, POPs, and the like, they’re without a doubt a primary beneficiary. On the business side, podcast hosting companies (among others) are another. Why them in particular? Because for their podcasters to reach and generate ad revenue from those loyal listeners, they need to deliver their shows efficiently, ensure ads are processed quickly (including programmatically), measure performance based on industry standards (e.g., IAB 2.2), and a lot more. But no great mystery, hosting platforms have too much to focus on already.
With that, we’re really proud to roll out a major enhancement to our content delivery network (CDN) – which, by the way, we own and operate ourselves. It lets those hosting platforms and other audio publishers focus on what they do best, and lets us take on the edge computing.
We announced it this week at The Podcast Show in London, where, as it turns out, we just opened a new data center. Our mission to “always work in the audio publisher's best interest” keeps getting closer in every way.
Best,
Jon Stephenson , CEO 
“BGO is participating in the mobilization of resources among our stations to offset the effects of expected funding losses…. (we’ve) been preparing for this circumstance for more than a year…. We are also implementing strategies to supplement or replace present funding sources that may fall victim to changes in policy structure. We're ready to weather the storm and press on.”
Mixed economic signals and sentiments did little to dampen the onward march of podcasting’s growth during the first quarter of the year. Podcast ad spending continued to climb, increasing 21% from a year ago, according to newly released Magellan AI estimates. The firm says even with uncertainty building in the economy during the quarter, Q1 followed what has become a familiar pattern for the industry.
Our new edge compute capabilities are designed to integrate directly with podcast hosting companies' existing systems. They continue to provide their podcasters with their own customer-facing content management systems (CMS) and tools, while seamlessly leveraging our CDN to handle the heavy lifting of enabling podcast delivery, programmatic monetization, contextual enrichment and extraction, and adherence to IAB 2.2 measurement guidelines.
Our own Rockie Thomas and Michael Fischer are headed to the magnificent Italian Lake District for RedTech International’s fourth annual CXO Summit! The show is known for its small-circle, intense, and intimate discussions between the global leaders of audio, from international media companies to technology platforms. Rockie presents as well – if you’re going, you’re in for one of the most unique summits on the event calendar.
See you on June 15!