Sponsored by Podpage. Spending time updating your podcast’s Wordpress or Squarespace page every time you publish a new episode? With Podpage, your podcast website updates by itself, every time you publish a new episode. Podcasting’s deals this year are smarter and more sustainable, says Will Pearson of iHeartPodcasts. He was speaking with Julie-Anna Needham for Podnews, as part of a long-form analysis of this second wave of M&A activity. A new organisation to support the growing podcast industry has officially launched. The Podcast Professionals Association aims to support and elevate those who work behind the scenes in the podcast industry, including producers, marketers, editors, and consultants, by providing vital resources and networking opportunities. There are a number of new features in Apple Podcasts with iOS 18, which is rolling out now. We covered enhancements to chapters last week; podcast host Ausha highlights other new features including sharing links to a specific timestamp, clickable timestamps in episode descriptions (which seem to work similar to Spotify and YouTube), and a revamped search engine. There are more details in a July post from 9to5Google, based on a beta release. Apple hasn’t communicated any changes to the app in iOS 18. There have been no updates in the Apple Podcasts for Creators “news” section for almost twelve months. > > > Read more of today’s podcast industry news stories on the Podnews website: and get our free daily newsletter.Classifieds - your job or ad hereHey business owner - You're juggling too much! — Hosting a podcast AND running a business? Good for you! Hire KD Creative to complete those time-consuming podcast tasks then go back to growing your business! Work with usAd-blocking and protection - at home and away — NextDNS is the new firewall for the modern Internet. It protects you from all kinds of security threats, blocks ads and trackers on websites and in apps, and provides a safe and supervised Internet. And it works wherever you are.Gold supporters: Buzzsprout, Mowpod, Mamamia, The $100 MBA, The Podglomerate, Sounds Profitable, Cloud10, Resound, Podscribe, SALT, Cohost, RedCircle, audioBoom, Simplecast, Steve Lack: Audio, Audiohook, Riverside.fm, Jar Audio, Podchaser, Awesound, Disctopia, Knucklehead Media Group, We Edit Podcasts, Podpage websites, Libsyn, Acast, Evergreen PodcastsSilver supporters: Audacia Audio, Bumper, Goalhanger, PodLabs - Podcast Experimentatio, Magellan AI, Gilded Audio, Frequency, SoundStack, Truefans, Gumball, Red Seat Ventures, POW PR, Compliance Podcast Network, Storyboard, The Podcast Haven, Huberman Lab, Jonekiri, Voxtopica, ARN's iHeartPodcast Network Aust, PlayPodcast, Podium , Castbox, Tink Media, The Roost, Deepcast Creator, Ausha, Ask Ralph Christian Finance, Podcastpage, Message Heard, Health Podcast Network, Heartcast Media50, Jam Street Media, Double Elvis Productions, Optimal Living Daily, Podcast Taxi, Blubrry, Zvook, matchmaker.fm, Wondery, Ossa Collective, Rephonic, Transistor, Rhapsody Voices, Diversion Podcasts, Sonic Influencer Marketing, Lemonada Media, Headliner, Oxford Road, Castos, Podcast Partnership, Content10x, StreamGuys, Ad Results Media, Hear.Here.Singapore, Cleanfeed, She Podcasts, Adopter Media, Podcast Movement, Sonix, Revolver Podcasts, Podigy, Lower Street, School of Podcasting, Edison Research, Signal Hill InsightsOur supporters pay for Podnews, so everyone can read it. Join them today.Image: Sarah Elizabeth