In the media landscape, podcasts stand alone: They deliver unique content for audiences and great results for brands—so long as the balance of ads is kept in check. With audiences and brands complaining about high ad load, how can creators make sure they’re not cramming their shows with commercials?

In this week’s episode of The Media Roundtable, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) and Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy, Oxford Road) talk about podcasting’s origins, “radioifcation,” and the Oxford Clock. Let’s dive in.

“ The sell side is gonna sell everything they can. They're gonna sell host-read ads, as many as they can. They're gonna sell produced ads in breaks, dynamically inserted, until the buyer and the listener scream.”

- Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road)

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Earlier this year, Forbes released its annual Top Creators list. This week, we have two of its highest-ranked names sharing their behind-the-scenes secrets. .

At Oxford Road’s CAO Summit this past July, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) welcomed two powerhouses of the creator economy: Dhar Mann (founder, Dhar Mann Studios) and John Allen, aka MrBallen (founder, Ballen Studios). In this in-depth conversation, the two stars talk about storytelling at scale, the benefits of paying attention to the comments section, and going beyond the brief. Let’s dive in.

“It does seem sort of fluky when somebody goes viral. I promise you it's not. Going viral might be fluky. Staying relevant is not.”

-John Allen, aka MrBallen (founder, Ballen Studios)

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It seems like AI is everywhere these days. But if you look at actual usage, only 50% of Americans use AI once a week. That’s roughly the same share of Americans who used the internet back in 2001.

If AI brands want to grow, there’s a hesitancy gap they’ll need to address. According to our new study with the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group®, audio is the perfect place to foster a brand campaign.

For details of our survey, as well as tips from our AI brand playbook, check out this week’s episode of The Media Roundtable.

First-time host Tucker Peleuses (Chief of Staff to the CEO, Oxford Road) welcomes Neal Lucey (EVP, Strategic Planning, Oxford Road) and Pierre Bouvard (Chief Insights Officer, Cumulus Media | Westwood One) to talk about AI’s split perceptions, audio wins, and why it’s important to remember that you’re not the customer. Let’s dive in.

“ If you're an AI brand and you think most Americans are aware of you, you've got a lot of work to do.”

- Neal Lucey (EVP, Strategy & Planning, Oxford Road)

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Podcasting is an amazing medium, but the industry that supports it hasn’t always been inherently brand friendly. Luckily, we have a chance to change that, thanks to the AMP Accords.

Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road), Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy, Oxford Road), and James Cridland (Editor, Podnews & Podcast Business Journal) do a deep dive deep into how the AMP Accords can shape the industry, and explain why imperfect standards are an improvement over the wild west.

“Podcasting is truly the shining city on a hill as far as media goes, and we can't get out of our own freaking way to not spike our customers' tires when they drive into the parking lot.”

-Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road)

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If you weren’t at this year’s CAO Summit, you missed out on a keynote speech that drew parallels between the headaches caused by banks printing their own money in the 1800s and the state of podcasting today.

Lucky for you, we’re releasing the full recording in this week’s episode of The Media Roundtable.

Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) and Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy, Oxford Road) talk about how podcasting platforms are printing their own money, the friction that adds to industry tension, and how AMP is poised to help. Let’s dive in.

“Today, we have platforms that each print their own currency. We have downloads, plays, views, streams, video views. Each number may be perfectly valid inside of one individual system that created it, but the problem appears when a brand tries to compare them to each other .”

•  Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road)

Download the full State of Podcasting deck here: https://oxfordroad.com/thought-leadership/the-state-of-podcasting-2026

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Podcasting isn’t just a DIY passion project anymore; it's a full-fledged business ecosystem, complete with sponsors, merch, and serious ROI. And with companies like Netflix and YouTube helping shows reach new audiences, advertisers don’t want to miss out.. So how can creators and brands take advantage of podcasting’s new business landscape? On the latest episode of The Media Roundtable, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) and Bryan Barletta (Founder, Sounds Profitable) join the Podcast Academy to discuss monetization, the next big moves, and how podcasters can grow their business.

“One of the biggest things that’s changed is that, for a 20-year-old industry, podcasting isn’t just a roll of the dice anymore. It really is a business.”

-Bryan Barletta (Founder, Sounds Profitable)

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One CMO, six experts, and more than a dozen different marketing headaches. Throw them all together, and what do you get? A fiery edition of Media Roundtable, that’s what.

Straight from Cannes, Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) joins a panel of experts to solve every marketing challenge that Kim Storin (CMO, Zoom) throws their way. Hear insights from:

• Dani Feore (VP, Industry Sales, The Weather Company)
• Don Sklenka (SVP of AI Optimization, Claritas)
• Grace Briscoe (EVP Client Development, Basis)
• Elizabeth Dobbs (AVP, Marketing Technology, Data & Growth, Databricks)
• Michael Bayston (Global VP Adtech Solutions, Acast)

The team talks about the best way to spend $500,000; the creative courage needed in the age of AI slop; and the one thing you need to make podcasting your strongest channel. Let’s dive in.

“ If you just try to make [podcasting] a box you check because you feel like it needs to be a part of a balanced portfolio, don't bother. Either go big, or go home.”

-Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road)

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Get your VIP pass to the hottest show in town! This week on The Media Roundtable, Daniel Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) talks with Andrew Tenenbaum and Ben Duvdevani (Co-Founders, One More Time VIP) about how live events fit into the creator economy. From exclusive merch, meet and greets, live episodes and activations, there are many ways brands can unlock new revenue streams for creators. But how will it all pay off in the long run? Ben and Andrew take us backstage for an exclusive look.

“Creators are the new rock stars. They have incredibly loyal fan bases. It's not like a musical act, where an album comes out and then something else comes along. In the creator world, it's a constant stream. It's something you become attached to.”

-Andrew Tenenbaum (Co-Founder, One More Time VIP)

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