This session, hosted by Charles Kerr (Podcast Lead, YouTube UKI), will provide podcasters with practical strategies for success on the YouTube platform. It will cover both what you should and (importantly) shouldn’t do to optimize your podcast's presence to grow and thrive on YouTube in 2025 and beyond...

 

Adelicious speak with Russell Howard and Frank Skinner to understand why comedy podcasts are so popular and what makes stand-up comedians such great podcasters. Stand-up comedians can hold the attention of thousands of people for over an hour with a monologue as a routine. How is that transferred to engaging podcast listeners?

Audiences expect their favourite content everywhere - on demand, on air, and in vision – and music content is evolving fast. Pop Top 10, hosted by Scott Mills and Rylan Clark, is at the forefront of this shift, blending the intimacy of podcasts, the energy of radio, and the engagement of visual content. In this session, Scott Mills, alongside Helen Thomas, Darby Dorras, and the Pop Top 10 team, lift the lid on how they’re reinventing music shows for the next generation of listeners. This is a must-attend talk for anyone looking to make their podcast or music brand unmissable—wherever audiences are listening or watching.

As Red Nose Day celebrated its 40th anniversary, Comic Relief, the Amazon Charities team, Amazon Music, and the producers of the no. 1 comedy podcast in the UK, Audio Always, came together to produce the hit comedy podcast It’s My Party, hosted by the comedian and co-host of the Trusty Hogs podcast, Catherine Bohart. Samir Patel, the CEO of Comic Relief, interviews the team behind the show and uncovers how to build a successful charity podcast – and how a shared goal to drive positive change can be realised through the power of entertainment.

In today’s media landscape, creators are no longer just creating shows—they're building global brands. Join Max Cutler (Founder, PAVE Studios)—a driving force behind some of the industry’s biggest creator success stories—as he sits down with leading creators Morgan Absher (Clues, Two Hot Takes) and Jamie Laing (NearlyWeds) for an inside look at how creators are expanding their brands, growing vibrant fan communities, and adapting to the demands of a multi-platform world.

Morgan Absher, host of the chart-topping Two Hot Takes, recently expanded into true crime with Clues, a new Crime House original video series she co-hosts with Kaelyn Moore. Jamie Laing, entrepreneur and UK podcast powerhouse, has successfully built a multi-show empire connecting audiences through humor, authenticity, and cultural commentary.

This conversation will explore how creators are launching cross-genre projects, embracing the rise of video-first content, and building brand loyalty. Expect insights into how fandom, content innovation, and platform expansion are driving the future of podcasting and beyond.

 

Four commissioners share how to pitch to the CBC, ABC, BBC and NPR and what they’re looking for in pitches and production teams. Whether you’re an independent, podcast company or potential media partner, find out how you can get your great story made.

In this engaging discussion hosted by Novel’s COO, Charlotte Wolf, three musical maestros share their playbook for podcast music mastery. Nicholas Alexander is the sonic wizard behind Novel’s multiple global number 1 hit podcasts including Kill List, The Girlfriends & Harsh Reality. Luisa Gertstein is a composer, label boss and band leader (The Girlfriends). Adam Foran is a multi instrumentalist and composer (Come By Chance, Extreme: Peak Danger). How do you select and brief a composer? How do you write a killer theme tune? How do you score using multitrack stems? What makes certain instruments pair with speech? How can musical stings elevate your content? What are the pitfalls to avoid when scoring a scene? How do you get the best out of library music? This session will be packed with practical advice. Nick Luisa and Adam will demystify the seemingly daunting process of music supervision and composition, illustrating their talk throughout with audio examples from their many award-winning shows.

A full breakdown of how we make British Scandal, the UK's most successful weekly narrative show.

Known for its irreverence, theatricality and gallows humour, British Scandal has delighted listeners week in, week out - for years. No matter how wildly the stories vary, fans know they can expect just the right balance between humour and an interrogation of the issues at hand. It's clear, entertaining, informative, and fun. But, in the words of Steve Jobs, "it takes a lot of hard work to make something look simple."

In this session the panel will lift the lid on how they make the show; from the initial idea, story development, writing, performance, production and sound design to release. Audience members will leave with an insight into the magic of writing for the ear, the intricacy and sheer hard work of story structure and how we leave space for the hosts to inject their style into the finished product. Plus plenty of funnies from Matt and Alice.

It’s official: the 2024 US presidential election was “The Podcast Election”. In a new era of US government, where right-wing podcasters lead the FBI and the ‘manosphere’ continues to bridge the gap between culture and politics, will far right parties across the globe adopt this strategy? And how can we best use our platforms to join the conversation and bring about change? Join Crooked Media - the media company behind Pod Save America and Pod Save The UK - for a panel discussion on podcasting’s evolving role in global media and politics with Nish Kumar, co-host of Crooked’s Pod Save The UK; Vois, the Italian Production company behind Crooked’s first ever foreign language adaptation Shadow Kingdom: God’s Banker; and Crooked’s head of Sales Giancarlo Bizzarro. Crooked’s position as the industry leader in progressive political podcasting will be examined as a use case for how insightful weekly news analysis and groundbreaking storytelling can inform and inspire where we go from here.

This session discusses the evolution of true crime podcasts, focusing on the shift from serial killer cases to micro-cases within families. It also explores the challenges of maintaining integrity, handling sensitive topics, and avoiding conspiracy theories.
Key points include:
- True crime podcasts have become increasingly popular, but there are concerns about their impact on listeners.
- Podcasters must be responsible and sensitive when covering these topics.
- Micro-cases, such as those involving families, are becoming more common.
- It is important to focus on the human stories behind these cases, rather than just the crime itself.
- Podcasters should avoid speculation and conspiracy theories.
- It is important to fact-check information and to be transparent with listeners.

Experience a live recording of Virtually Parkinson where AI meets legacy in a live, unscripted interview with a special guest. Join the host's Mike Parkinson, Benjamin Field & Jamie Anderson as this pioneering podcast explores not just the spirit of Britain’s greatest interviewer, but the evolving relationship between humans and technology.
 

As the podcasting industry continues its meteoric rise, the next decade promises transformative changes, innovative technologies, and new challenges. This panel session, Podcasting 2025–2035, will offer an in-depth exploration of the future of podcasting on a global scale. Industry leaders and innovators will come together to discuss how podcasting will evolve, including advancements in technology, shifts in audience behaviour, and emerging business models. This session will provide invaluable insights for creators, distributors, and brands looking to stay ahead in a rapidly changing landscape.

Join Sony Music, Patreon and Goalhanger as they discuss the rise of subscriptions in podcasting and why the medium is the perfect space for fan engagement. They’ll cover how new tools and platforms are offering creators exciting opportunities to engage their fanbases and build loyal communities. Find out why subscriptions and community building have to be an essential part of any successful podcasts and what you need to think about for your show. 

Brittany Clevenger of Betterhelp and Spencer Matthews of Untapped by High Performance will be discussing how they utilized Podcast, Social Media and Live Events to amplify some of the latest independent research on mental health in the UK with input from Betterhelp, the largest online therapy platform in the world. The panelists will also be inviting the audience to participate in giving their thoughts on mental health, the stigma surrounding it, and what we can all do to lead healthier lives and inspire others to do the same. Podcast is one of the most powerful channels to amplify a mission, and this is a great example.

BBC Studios talks to some of North America’s leading podcast creatives to explore differences between the UK and US/Canadian markets, and what the opportunities are for British producers there.

With the IAB reporting that audio podcast growth has slowed in the UK to just 8% year-on-year, but video display seeing 2.5x the growth of audio, what does this mean for podcasting? Should we focus on video to earn revenue? What does this mean for audio, and for the future of our medium? Is the future of podcasting destined to be only video, and only on YouTube and Spotify - and what happens if it does? This short panel looks at the effects of video podcasting so far for the industry, and where things go next.

Leading figures from the BBC’s AI Leadership team talk about how the BBC balances innovation with the responsibilities of being a public media organisation.

In this candid session, led by top executives at some of today's leading audio networks, we’ll explore the complex challenges facing the industry and how to align business and content strategies to navigate them while continuing to create award-winning content. Speakers will discuss everything from the intersection of editorial and branded content, to the importance of fostering a strong team culture, to weaving in video production. Attendees will walk away with a deeper understanding of how the top podcast companies sustain high-quality production, scale their business, and develop monetization strategies that uphold artistic integrity while ensuring long-term financial sustainability.

As podcasting expands beyond audio into video, live events, community offerings, and retail, the industry is shifting from a single distribution/monetization model to a 360-degree multimedia approach. But are our agreements keeping up? Many deal templates were designed for an RSS-first world, yet today’s content creators build direct audience connections across multiple platforms. In this panel, we’ll hear from top executives on how podcast deal structures must evolve to reflect this new reality. From integrated IP strategies to cross-platform monetization, we’ll discuss how to future-proof agreements in an era where audio is just one piece of the puzzle. Whether you're a creator, producer, or industry professional, this session will equip you with insights to navigate the changing landscape of deal-making in 2025.

Join the teams behind The Diary Of A CEO, High Performance and The Zoe Podcast who reveal how they are growing their Podcasts using Social Media and YouTube.

The Framework for viral episode Trailers and Social Content, The Formula for Growth on YouTube, The Strategies that bring those audiences over from social.