The overheated podcast sector has hit an iceberg, according to recent reports citing staff layoffs and the end of the big-money talent deals that until recently had become  commonplace. Spotify, Amazon, NPR and SiriusXM have been trimming budgets while allowing costly agreements to expire without renewals. The sector grew explosively in the past decade, with the number of U.S. listeners age 12 and over who have tried podcasting more than doubling to 62 percent, or 177 million users, according to Edison Research. But now that the euphoria has worn off, a mature market is learning sustainability. Continue reading Podcast Industry Reins in Costs After Years of Rapid Growth

To help advertisers better target millennial and Gen-Z audiences, The Walt Disney Company debuted the Disney Digital Network, a conglomeration of more than 300 social media channels and a wide range of content. Disney says the new Digital Network reaches an audience of more than one billion. The content includes everything from classic Disney characters to the new material emerging from Maker Studios. Disney Co/Op, an in-house branded content service, puts advertisers together with Disney digital creators for customized campaigns. Continue reading New Disney Digital Network Connects Advertisers, Millennials

YouTube’s most popular programmer, Maker Studios, is restructuring its network of genre-ranging channels in an effort to better reach consumers and advertisers. Its more than 55,000 channels will be organized into four units: men, women, family, and entertainment programming. At the Variety Entertainment & Tech Summit on Monday, Maker Studios chairman Ynon Kreiz also unveiled Maker Max, which allows content creators to more easily manage their videos. Continue reading Popular YouTube Programmer to More Closely Resemble Cable

ETC staffers Tim Miller, Don Levy and Phil Lelyveld visited Los Angeles-based Maker Studios in August. Maker Studios is a media company founded by YouTube artists in 2009, “the only network that provides partners a full range of vertically integrated services including development, production, promotion, distribution, sales, marketing and merchandise services.” The company manages 60,000 channels and claims to have more than a billion monthly subscribers. Continue reading EXCLUSIVE: ETC Meets with Multichannel Network Maker Studios