INTERNATIONAL STAGE

Session details coming soon.

Monetisation, distribution and IP are defining the next phase of podcast growth. Format Creator and Founder of Yes Yes Media, Richard Bacon talks to senior leaders at Podimo, Acast, ARN and iHeartRadio on how they’re building and scaling global audio businesses. A senior-level view on where the smartest bets are being made.

True crime remains one of the most powerful engines of international podcast growth — but what exactly makes audiences around the world lean in? This panel brings together three international creators whose wildly different approaches demonstrate the remarkable range within the genre, and how diverse storytelling styles can generate millions of listens and break out beyond their home markets.

 

Reports of the documentary podcast’s death have been greatly exaggerated, but the pressures are real. Shrinking attention spans, platform shifts and tougher monetisation are challenging longform audio, even as it continues to win awards, attract major commissions and build deeply engaged audiences worldwide. In this session, leading documentary makers come together for a candid, global conversation on what’s working now and what comes next. From production realities to audience growth, they’ll explore how longform storytelling is adapting, evolving and proving its place in a rapidly changing podcast landscape.

What do the numbers actually say about how the world is listening in 2026? In this session, some of the leading research minds in podcasting pull back the curtain on their latest findings, and each one brings a proprietary insight they're revealing for the first time. Expect hard data, surprising discoveries, and the kind of intelligence that usually stays behind closed doors. If you make, commission, fund, or sell podcasts, this is the session you cannot afford to miss.

An interactive, audience-facing session in which creators pitch their show ideas live to a panel of senior international commissioners and industry experts. The format gives independent producers and emerging voices a rare moment of direct access to decision-makers, with constructive feedback delivered in real time and the chance to be remembered by the people who decide what gets made. The panel brings together commissioning and creative leaders from Podimo, CBC, Unedited and ABC, offering a deliberately international view on what makes a pitch land — and what it takes to turn an idea into a global show.

 

The Ambies, presented by The Podcast Academy, are widely recognized as the highest honor in podcasting, celebrating the creators, voices, and stories that are shaping culture through audio. Designed to reflect the full breadth of the medium, The Ambies spotlight excellence across genres, formats, and platforms, bringing together the industry’s most influential talent on a singular, prestigious stage.

Within this, the International Ambies stand as a highly curated and exclusive distinction, honoring exceptional podcasting from around the world and recognizing the global impact of storytelling beyond the U.S. market. With a more selective set of categories and honorees, this segment elevates international voices redefining the medium, offering partners a unique opportunity to align with podcasting’s most compelling and culturally diverse creators on a global stage.

Hosted by Krupa Padhy,  BBC World Service Journalist and Woman's Hour Presenter,  The Podcast Academy will present the International Impact Award and the Governors Award, honoring individuals and podcasts whose work has made a significant and lasting contribution to the global audio landscape.

As podcasting matures, the biggest growth opportunity isn't just scale, it's geography. But building a global podcast is far more complex than flipping a distribution switch. In this session, our panel will unpack what it really takes to grow and monetize across borders: from cultural nuance and platform strategy to measurement, media buying, and brand safety across markets.  The panel will explore the practical realities behind “going global”, including how creators adapt content for different regions without diluting their voice, how advertisers evaluate international reach versus local resonance, and where revenue actually materializes. 

Session details coming soon.

Session details coming soon.

In an increasingly competitive landscape, product experience is becoming as important as content. This session brings together leaders to explore how technology, design and features are reshaping how audiences discover, engage with and stay loyal to podcasts. From solving discovery to building tools for both listeners and creators, they’ll share real-world insights into the product decisions shaping the future of podcasting — and who stands to win. Hosted by Stuart Miles, this is a practical, forward-looking conversation grounded in real data, real trade-offs and the features changing listener behaviour right now.

Production companies don't just "sell a show", they need to choose a deal structure that determines the future of the IP they are building. As the podcast market growth accelerates on both sides of the Atlantic, the same show can be pitched in different ways and close on different terms depending if the buyer is in New York or London. This session will take a practical, deal-first look at the key structural differences between two key markets and provide tips for negotiating with buyers. Drawing on real-world transactions and cross-border experience, the panel will give attendees a clear framework for negotiating with buyers and building deals that create long-lasting participation and necessary protection for independent production companies.

In this session, ad industry leaders from across Europe come together to map the state of podcast advertising in 2026: where budgets are flowing, which markets are maturing fastest, what's holding others back, and how the commercial landscape is being reshaped by new technologies, new measurement standards, and new buyer expectations. Whether you're a creator trying to understand your monetisation options, a publisher building a sales strategy, or a brand deciding where to put your money, this is the session that will tell you where the market actually is, and where it's heading.

Session details coming soon.