CBS News and Amazon/Wondery deal, the magic(?) of AI Chat/Sydney and three pod things to know this week

So first off, I don’t want to bury the lede - congratulations to all on closing a big CBS News Podcast and Amazon/Wondery Audio deal.? This has been a long time in the works and involved a lot of people in a lot of departments.

So what does this mean for us? Through this new partnership, Wondery will handle distribution and ad-sales for our pods.? We’ll also be getting ability to better resource CBS News podcasting overall, which means we can grow the slate and scale the business.? And that means we’re going big on the core iconic franchises that line up with the podcasting audience - 48 Hours, 60 Minutes and CBS Sunday Morning.? All three shows have strong bases either through established showcasts (48 and 60) or powerful top-ranked originals such as Sunday Mornings’ Mobituaries with Mo Rocca.

?

The team sat down with Wondery recently to discuss the slate and have to say, beyond anything else, it was just fun.? Incredibly smart group, great insights and a lot of excitement for what we can do together.? We’re not going to announce anything just yet but we are actively developing and it is, truly, exciting.

Will also note that strategic shifts that we have made for CBS News have already produced significant results.? We increased exposure for Erin Moriarty’s My Life of Crime by moving the fourth season into the main 48 Hours Podcast feed.? This resulted in a 141% in total downloads for the series (off of a strong base) and an 88% increase in downloads per episode.? Usage of the RSS feeds has been a hot topic in podcasting as of late and we’ll be continuing to strategically use our feeds to drive growth and awareness across the entire portfolio.

More to come, going to be a lot of fun.

And speaking of fun…I’m just going to note that if you’re not into the world of AI, you can feel free to skip to the bulleted news pieces.? Similarly to the intellectual excitement of talking with the Wondery team as to how we can supercharge CBS News Audio, not sure I’ve had this much fun digging into a concept in quite a while.??

The current AI discussion around Microsoft Bing is just…amazing.? I ended up being late to work last Thursday because I couldn’t stop reading the transcript of the AI chat between Bing (or is it Sydney) and the New York Times Kevin Roose (found here) and then his analysis of that chat (found here).? From there, followed the links into another fascinating article from the always great Ben Thompson at Stratechery.? From there, following some of the twitter links into the concept of different basins or personalities.??

As all parties note, I do understand that this is an AI and not a sentient being.? However, digging into how the AI platform works, how it stitches things together and then the very real emotional responses it generates from humans…fascinating.? To that point, useful visual model from the NYT can be found here that outlines exactly how that works.??

So if nothing else, a tip of the hat to the joys of intellectual curiosity and excitement and maybe just a bit of legitimate concern. ? As Axios noted in their newsletter Tuesday, “Misinformation can also flow into AI models. That means at least some generative AI will be subject to "injection attacks," where malicious users teach lies to the programs, which then spread them.”

All of which feels very in the spirit of podcasting as a medium, full of people who are up to deeply explore topics, whether it is tech, fiction or themselves.

And now, the news.

New Updates for Apple Podcasts (iOS 16.4)

• The next version of iOS and macOS will include a few changes to Apple Podcasts, including updates to channels?
• Listeners will be able to find and browse all of their podcast channels in one place, with a new section of the Library displaying channels?
• Order of channels will be displayed by channels that listeners subscribe to are located at the top, followed by channels for free shows that listeners follow.
• In an improvement to the Up Next feature, Up Next will now also include episodes listeners have saved to their Library and episodes that they play from shows they do not follow. In addition, listeners will receive more tools to help manage their queues
• Apple has also shared that they will be providing more precise analytics for hosting providers and third-party podcasting services?

Spotify Takes on TikTok??

In a newsletter from reporter Ashely Carman, we have learned that Spotify will announce a new upgrade / feature coming to the platform: a vertically swiped homepage.?

• This launch seems to be a tactic to attract a younger demo – the TikTok demographic – and an attempt to improve discovery?
• Sources indicate that the update will be similar to TikTok’s functionality in which, instead of selecting from a long list of carousels featuring static cover art, the interface will be a single streamlined consumer experiencing, allowing listeners to swipe vertically through content recommendations which will in turn, play automatically
• Co-President and Chief Product and Technology Officer Gustav S?derstr?m explained the impending launch as a way to unite the platform’s various verticals—music, podcasts and audiobooks—in one place.
• Instagram (Reels) and YouTube (Shorts) are already experimenting with this “jump right in” approach to content?
• The multi-format feed was teased at Spotify’s investor day in June of 2022 and more is expected to be shared at its Stream On event. We will be monitoring these updates as, we too, explore tools and new models to aid podcast discovery?

YouTube Testing New Podcasts Features - Creation and Measurement in Studio?

• In another step towards integrating podcasts on the platform, YouTube has announced a new podcasts feature currently in beta.?
• If you participate in this experiment, you can upload a podcast, view podcasts and mark existing playlists as podcasts.?
• There will also be displays of analytical data, including measurements of performance.?

And we’ll send with an exciting announcement about our very own CBS News Radio’s Peter King.

Peter King has been honored as the winner of the 2023 National Space Club & Foundation Press Award for his many years of significant contributions and services in covering Space for CBS News Radio. This award is given annually to recognize a member of the journalism industry for significant contributions to public knowledge and understanding of astronautics and its impact upon our nation and all humankind.

?

Peter has been awarded for outstanding coverage of the space program while working at CBS News Radio. Peter King has been a voice of America's space program for more than 25 years, covering the Space Shuttle program from 1995 to its conclusion in 2011; multiple robotic and science missions; the beginning of commercial spaceflight; and the return of America's human spaceflight program. His reporting has won many awards, including several shared Edward R. Murrow and Headliner Awards at CBS News, and "Best Investigative Reporting" and "Best Serious Feature" from The Associated Press of Florida.

Congratulations again to Peter and we’ll see everyone next week!?