The Podcast Show in London at the Business Design Centre routinely attracts over 10,000 attendees from dozens of countries across the global audio industry. Across its five-year history, the event has brought together more than 25,000 delegates.
Podcast Show
Ed Sullivan was an iconic American entertainment journalist and television host, best remembered as the creator and presenter of The Ed Sullivan Show, which aired on CBS from 1948 to 1971, setting a record as the longest-running series of its kind in U.S. broadcasting history. At the height of his fame, Sullivan has hundreds of people doing impressions of him, specifically how he mangled, “We have a really big show for you tonight,” coupled with weird shoulder rolls and facial ticks that were gravy for comedians.
I bring Sullivan up because it is the best way to describe The London Podcast Show of 2026 – “It was a really big show!”
Held at London’s Business Design Centre, the two-day international festival for the business of podcasting brought together creators, brands, and industry leaders from over 50 countries to explore the future of the audio and creator-led media industries.
If you’ve never been to a podcasting event, then you’d be in a for a treat. Unlike the ego strutting and peacocking at movie and TV events, podcasters are a free-spirited, collaborative, friendly, leave your ego at the door bunch. Hence, this photo!
Podcasters enjoying the Podcast Show In London.
Podcast Show
Key Highlights and Industry Trends
- The Video Podcast Boom: With roughly 71%of podcasters now producing video, adapting content for platforms like YouTube and Apple Podcasts was the dominant talking point.
- Monetization & IP: Industry leaders focused heavily on protecting intellectual property and strategies for brand-led community building.
- AI Integration: Attendees discussed the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, balancing the worries of AI flooding the market with new tools for audio creation and search.
Norma Jean Belenky is the co-host of PodBiz, a popular weekly industry podcast that dives into the business side of audio. Alongside co-host John Kiernan, she interviews creators and executives to answer the industry’s biggest question: “Where’s the money in podcasting?”
Norma observed about the Show: “One of the best parts of The Podcast Show London is realizing how many conversations from PodBiz have continued far beyond the microphone. A lot of what makes this industry special still happens in the in-between moments. The conversations after the panel. The quick catch-up in a crowded hallway. The ‘we should record something soon’ chats that turn into real collaborations months later.”
Will Pearson, President, iHeartPodcasts, said in a statement: “The Podcast Show London has become an essential moment for the podcast industry, bringing together the people, ideas and innovation that continue to move it forward. iHeart is proud to return as a Headline Partner alongside Global, reaffirming our support of an event that truly reflects how powerful podcasting can be when great talent, platforms and ideas come together on an international stage.”
Meet Ups and Sit Downs
The event was so jam packed with meetings, sessions, and presentations, it’s not easy to provide a synopsis of those two days. There were excellent sessions featuring insights from Molly DeMellier from Sounds Profitable, and Brittany Clevenger, who is the Senior Director of Growth Marketing at the online therapy platform BetterHelp, where she is widely recognized as an audio and podcast advertising powerhouse. One of the highlights was a session with recent Podcast Hall of Fame inductee and Podnews managing editor, James Cridland, who revealed the new Podnews Report Card. You can read the results here.
Sounds Profitable and Sound Insights debuted The Advertising Landscape U.K., which we will cover in depth in our next article. Analyst Adam Bowie shared his slide deck and key takeaways from his presentation Signals in the Static: A Data-Driven Guide to the Podcast Landscape, and an episode of Podnews Weekly Review was recorded live on stage during the conference.
Lauren Passell is the founder of Tink Media, Podcast the Newsletter, and Podcast Marketing Magic, and she co-founded the newsletter Podcasts We Text About with Arielle Nissenblatt. She speaks about podcast growth and the industry in general in classrooms and on stages all over the world.
Podcast Show In London
Almost 100 Podcast Marketing Tips (Again!) by Arielle Nissenblatt,Lauren Passell, and Shreya Sharma offered attendees valuable marketing and podcast strategy tips, such as “launch strategy, audience targeting, and guest outreach should vary for every single episode, and offer a free ticket to a podcast conference or an event in exchange for your listeners sending you a marketing tip. It gamifies sharing and provides you with new content.”
Andreea Coscai of Eurowaves spoke about the international aspect of podcasting. Andreea is a leading podcast growth strategist who believes in the power of authentic, multicultural storytelling to bridge borders.
Andreea Coscai is the co-founder of PodVision and the founder of Eurowaves, the go-to European podcasting newsletter.
Podcast Show
With deep international experience, she specializes in taking podcasts from concept to success and is committed to supporting the next generation of authentic podcasters internationally.
Awards and Rewards
The awards were accepted on May 20th at The Podcast Show London by Senior Producer Callum Hill and Producers Tabby Syrett and Aaliyah Akude of The Rest Is History and the host of Wisecrack, Jodi Tovay, alongside the subject of the series, Edd Hedges.
Wisecrack
The Podcast Academy (TPA), a leading professional organization dedicated to the podcasting community, announced this year’s recipients of its international honors at The Podcast Show. The Rest Is History from Goalhanger received the International Governor’s Award, recognizing a podcast based or set outside the United States for their compelling and long term influence on the industry, while Wisecrack from Tenderfoot TV & iHeartPodcasts received the International Impact Award, recognizing a podcast or individual based or set outside the United States whose recent work has had a significant, positive impact on the global podcasting landscape.
TPA’s Awards for Excellence in Audio, popularly known as The Ambies, celebrates outstanding achievement in audio and elevates awareness and status of podcasts as a unique and personal medium for entertainment, information, storytelling, and expression.
The future of podcasting
The Podcast Show in London is a one-of-a-kind event that brings together industry leaders, brands, and platforms alongside emerging and established creators to celebrate, and help shape, the future of podcasting.
Now firmly established as the international meeting point for podcasting, the show attracts delegates from the U.S., Germany, France, the Netherlands, Ireland, Sweden, Norway, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Kenya, Canada, Spain, Denmark, Singapore, South Korea, Brazil, and beyond.
The show has hosted some of podcasting’s most recognizable names, including The Rest Is History hosts Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, Mo Gilligan, Award-winning comedian and presenter, The News Agents: Top political podcasters Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel, Gary Lineker, legendary footballer and host of The Rest Is Football, and Elizabeth Day: Best-selling author and host of How to Fail with Elizabeth Day.
Podcast Show
Many of the world’s most influential companies are sponsors and collaborators: ABC Australia, AdsWizz, Al Jazeera, Audible, Bauer Media, BBC Sounds, BBC World Service, Bloomberg, CAA, CBC, Condé Nast, Dolby, ESPN, Financial Times, Global, Higher Ground, iHeartPodcasts, Lemonada Media, Netflix Podcasts, NordVPN, NPR, Patreon, Pushkin Industries, Quill, Shure, Sky News, The Economist, The Podcast Academy, TikTok, Tortoise Media, UTA, and WME, YMU.
I think Molly DeMellier of Sounds Profitable summarizes the event quite nicely: “The smartest people in podcasting are still willing to share ideas, challenge each other, collaborate, and build together. You leave exhausted, over-caffeinated, slightly sleep-deprived, and somehow even more energized than when you arrived.”
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