Beehiiv Launches Podcasts, Spotify Ad Exchange Growth, & More

This week in the business of podcasting:

• Newsletter and blogging platform beehiiv has launched integrated podcast hosting and monetization services, with CEO Tyler Denk positioning podcasts as a core product pillar alongside its newsletter tools and IAB certification now underway.
• Sounds Profitable's new research report The Last Quarter finds that the 25% of Americans who have never listened to a podcast skew politically centrist, a group that algorithmically driven platforms are poorly designed to reach.
• Spotify's programmatic advertising platform SAX grew its monthly active advertiser count 222% year-over-year since its April 2025 launch, though media buyers say host-read podcast advertising still favors direct deals over programmatic buying.

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.