• PodWires
  • Posts
  • AudioUK Challenges BBC's Decision to Move Speech Audio Production to BBC Studios

AudioUK Challenges BBC's Decision to Move Speech Audio Production to BBC Studios

November 09, 2023

News that BBC is moving Audion Production to BBC studio is one of the big stories in the UK.

Their disappointment is that the BBC hasn't heard their concerns, and we will keep pushing for a review of the plans' broader market effects with the help of the right government and regulatory bodies.

While in the US, The Consumer Technology Association has released its annual report on how much people in the U.S. will spend on services and software. Subscriptions to streaming music services, podcasts, and audiobooks are expected to grow.

The CTA thinks that people will spend $13.3 billion on audio streaming services next year, which is 5% more than the $12.7 billion it thinks they will spend this year.

Happy Podcasting!!

miko santos, founder

📢 Theo Von's podcast is becoming more and more popular, partly thanks to TikTok. This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von debuted at No. 5 on Edison Research's list of the most listened to podcasts between July and September, sandwiched between This American Life and SmartLess.

📢 U.S. Audio streaming to Boom with $13.3 Billion Spend, says CTA Report. The CTA thinks that people will spend $13.3 billion on audio streaming services next year, which is 5% more than the $12.7 billion it thinks they will spend this year.

📢 Experience Bestselling Audiobooks With Spotify Premium, Now Available in the US!. Audiobook fans in the US, rejoice! The U.S. joins the U.K. and Australia in offering over 200,000 audiobooks to Spotify Premium subscribers. How's that sequel?

📢 Brand Lift Focus Increases as Podcasting Branding Investment Doubles. The recently released IAB/PwC U.S. Podcast Advertising Revenue Study 2023 shows that brand-focused campaigns now account for 61% of projected podcast ad revenue. It rose 13 points since 2021. That understates a much more impressive number when translated into dollars.

In response to the BBC, AudioUK, the trade association for independent audio production companies, confirmed that by April 2024, a sizable portion of its speech audio production will be relocated to BBC Studios.

This means that in order to create audio content, including podcasts, for other commissioners like Amazon, Audible, and Wondery, the BBC will have to compete with the independent audio production industry.

Ofcom's approval of the move, which was centred on creating a level playing field for Studios to compete against production companies for BBC commisions, does not address this particular aspect.

The Managing Director of AudioUK, Chloe Straw, stated: While we respect the BBC's right to look into other opportunities, this does have implications for competition as it involves bringing a production arm funded by the public into the larger commercial market to compete with creative SMEs—a market that has been largely created over the last 20 years by those SMEs' industriousness and inventiveness. Since this aspect is exempt from Ofcom's approval requirements, it has not been thoroughly examined.

"We express disappointment that the BBC has not acknowledged our concerns, and we will persist in advocating for a review of the plans' broader market implications in consultation with the appropriate governmental and regulatory bodies." Specifically, as we've said before, we think that this action should be coupled with the chance for innovative SMEs across the UK to bid on all of the BBC's audio non-news content.

Therefore, in the event that this crucial aspect of BBC speech audio production moves to BBC Studios, AudioUK is calling for additional research and for all of BBC Radio and Audio's non-news programme commisions, including BBC Sounds, to be open to competition for outside producers.

The BBC is required to make 60% of the "eligible hours" in its network radio commisions available to outside competition by the end of this year, in contrast to the 100% competition that exists for BBC TV shows. This lower goal was justified by the BBC's inability to produce shows for outside buyers and the fact that a large portion of its radio and audio output was still produced internally.

Podcast news with

Tomorrow! NPR and Edison Research present The Spoken Word Audio Report 2023 online at 2pm ET.

According to The Spoken Word Audio Report 2023 from NPR and Edison Research, U.S. spoken word audio listening time and audience size reach record highs. Fourty-eight percent of Americans 13+ listen to spoken word audio daily, and 31% of their audio time is spent on it.

The fifth annual Spoken Word Audio Report examines spoken word audio consumption at home, work, in-car, and other locations.

Lamar Johnson, VP of Sponsorship Marketing at National Public Media, and Megan Lazovick, Vice President at Edison Research, will present the fifth annual Spoken Word Audio Report findings in a webinar tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. ET.

MOVERS AND SHAKERS

Movement with Meklit Madero is a podcast, radio series and live show that tells stories of global migration through music. Hosted by Ethiopian-American singer Meklit Hadero, the show is a meditation on the large-scale forces at play in individual lives. Issues of citizenship, identity, belonging, and borders are explored through the experiences of artists themselves: two brothers sharing one guitar, a daughter trying on her father’s shoes, the lineage of a drum, and the sounds of a grandmother’s backyard.

Here are our current featured roles. Check the job board for more jobs and some freelance gigs.

  •  On AIR Brand is looking for a VA/Project Manager. This is an opportunity for you if you are highly organized, meet deadlines, have an instinct and talent for creative/design.

  • PMX is looking for The Head of OOH & Audio will be responsible for the development and management of Publicis Groupe’s converged OOH & Audio products.

  • Bloomberg is looking for a Full-time and contractor Podcast Producer. Bloomberg is expanding its audio offerings and seeking an experienced podcast producer for a daily economy, world, and enterprise business news podcast.

Please mention Podworks.io or Podwires in your application.

To get more podcast jobs , subscribe to Podworks IO Click here

  • TikTok is ending its $1 billion creator fund. TikTok users were informed today that the company's one billion dollar creator fund will be terminated on December 16th, 2023.

  • YouTube Cracks Down on Content Recommendations to Protect Teen Mental Health. YouTube is now partnering with youth, parenting, and mental health experts to meet the needs of teens. These updates are designed to help teens navigate their growing individual interests, while putting their safety, privacy, and wellbeing first.

  • The group CEO of QYOU Media's Indian operations is currently Raj Mishra. The company creates and distributes content from digital creators and has operations in both India and the United States. Mishra was the first worker at Musical.ly, the Indian startup that pioneered lip syncing and subsequently evolved into TikTok. India outlawed TikTok in 2020.

Send press releases, jobs and events to [email protected] Other ways to contact us. Editorially, we may rewrite headlines and descriptions.

OUR SUPPORTERS
tubebudy

📢 Interested in sponsoring Podwires?

Reply

or to participate.