Audio Ink

iHeartMedia has called it the company's "growth engine" and is pouring more resources and artificial intelligence capabilities into podcasting, but the broadcaster has been seeking a new audience in a unique ad push - trading podcast follows for extras in mobile games.

Since coming quietly onto the scene at the end of January, 2017, the Chicken Soup for the Soul podcast has surpassed one million downloads. The podcast is hosted by Chicken Soup for the Soul’s publisher, editor-in-chief, and author Amy Newmark.

The media giant has revealed its full lineup for the Daytime Village at the 2017 iHeartRadio Music Festival, September 22 and 23, in Las Vegas. The popular and emerging artists on the bill include Halsey, Little Mix, Bleachers, Niall Horan, Bebe Rexha, Cheat Codes, Flume, and more.

DGital Media, in tandem with Book Tour LLC, is launching the weekly podcast featuring the famed writer. Called Book Tour, the debut date is June 22 and the podcast will be recorded in conjunction with the national tour Grisham will be doing for Camino Island, his new novel about a stolen F. Scott Fitzgerald manuscript that turns up on the literary black market.

PodcastOne has promoted Jim Ballas to VP of Technology and Operations. In Ballas’ expanded role, he will oversee network digital initiatives and sales operations, including the website, app, ad insertion, virtual reality and reporting metrics. He'll report to CEO, Jim Berk.

The 13-time Emmy Award-winning journalist has a new podcast, Stories Beyond the Headlines, on reVolver Podcasts.  Rodríguez is familiar to many as the co-anchor of the award-winning weekly newsmagazine program, Aquí y Ahora, (Here and Now), and as a best-selling author.

SiriusXM is launching a new daily weeknight show and additional weekend shows, all airing on SiriusXM Patriot channel 125. Former White House Chief Strategist and Breitbart News Network Executive Chairman Steve Bannon will return as a regular host along with Editor-in-Chief Alex Marlow on the conservative channel beginning December 5.

American Public Media is collaborating with the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History to produce a podcast series on America’s internment of Japanese civilians during WWII and its legacy.

The streaming pure-play says the addition of AdsWizz will upgrade its ad tech capabilities. This is not an unexpected move as Pandora moves more into programmatic buying and away from feet-on-the-street selling to cut down on cost, as we've learned from their earnings calls.

iHeartRadio will be the default live music for Amazon's recently unveiled Echo Dot Kids Edition. Family-friendly iHeartRadio Live stations and playlists will be available across the Echo Dot Kids Edition and FreeTime Unlimited on Alexa. All the kids have to do is ask Alexa to launch iHeartRadio, tell her what they want to hear, and start listening.