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The Media Roundtable isn’t just another industry podcast; it’s an open lab where the sharpest minds in podcasting, advertising, and media break down the forces shaping the audio landscape—and reconstruct them in real time. 

We created this show in service of the Chief Audio Officer: the marketer responsible for making audio campaigns not just sound good, but drive results. For many brands, audio advertising is a highly effective secret weapon–but it can be difficult to navigate, requiring specialist expertise to untangle its nuances. From brand safety to ad load, from recapping the latest industry news, to redefining what a podcast is in this day and age, we tackle the issues that matter most to a CAO, in the most entertaining way possible. 

You’ll hear from a wide range of voices—past guests include T-Pain, David Spade, Ashley Flowers (Crime Junkie), Ben Shapiro (The Daily Wire), and Ira Glass (This American Life), to name a few—alongside leading brands, publishers, and our own team of experts. If you’re invested in audio, whether you're buying the ads, creating the content, or just curious about the business, Media Roundtable is your ear to the ground with an eye on the future–and it’s time you listen.

Media Roundtable

Advertisers want to spend an extra $1B in podcasting; but they’re holding back until we address the industry’s biggest issues.

This week on The Media Roundtable, we’ve assembled a powerhouse of CAOs to talk about the findings of our 2025 What Brands Want report.

At this summer’s CAO Summit, we learned that podcasting could be one billion dollars bigger… if brands had what they need today. After polling brand leaders on their hurdles and needs, the results are in. Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) breaks down the findings with:

• Justin Fitzpatrick (Head of Performance Marketing, Found) 

• Julianna Crozier (Associate Director, Influencer Partnerships & Growth Marketing, Thrive Market)

• Will Flaherty (SVP, Growth, Ro), and

• Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy, Oxford Road)

The team is talking: Closing the Measurement Gap, Beating the Clutter, Minding the Macro, and more. Let’s dig in:

“Any sort of improvement that we can make on the measurement side to prove the efficacy of our ad dollars is going to only enable us to put more and more budget into the channel.” 

 -Justin Fitzpatrick (Head of Performance Marketing, Found) 

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Why Brands Aren't Spending That Extra $1B on Podcasts (Yet)

CAOs: We analyzed $1.6 billion in podcast ads. Here's what actually drives ROI.

The team at Oxford Road unveils ORBIT, the Oxford Road Benchmark Intelligence Tool, built on $1.6 billion in actual campaign performance data. Not estimates. Not surveys. Real results from real advertisers spending real money.

This is the planning tool we've been chasing for a decade. ORBIT doesn't just tell you which podcasts are popular. It tells you which ones drive ROI. Which ones convert. Which ones are worth the check you're about to write.

Joining Dan are the data wizards who made it real: 

• Brian Kim (Director of Analytics, Oxford Road) 

• Mike Dunsmore (Director of Analytics, Reporting and Insights, Oxford Road)

• Tucker Peleuses (VP of Strategy, Oxford Road)

The team unpacks: Why Joe Rogan didn't crack the Top 15, the faith-based performance secret, the genre trap costing you money, and more. Let's get into it.

"This is what happened when real companies spent real money. If you want to know which podcasts work, start here."

– Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road)

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We Analyzed $1.6 Billion in Podcast Ads. Here's What Actually Drives ROI

To make an industry better, sometimes you gotta shake things up. 

We’re celebrating one full year since two competitors, Oxford Road and Veritone One, joined forces to become the world's largest podcast and creator-based video agency.

Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road) gathered leaders from across the new org to talk wins, hard-fought lessons, and tips for anyone looking to self-disrupt for the better. It’s part victory lap, part therapy, and part masterclass. 

Joining are some of the fearless leaders who made it happen:

• Bart Roselli (EVP of Media, Oxford Road)

• Courtney O’Connor (Director, Podcast Media, Oxford Road)

• Hilary Shafer (SVP of Podcast & Influencer, Oxford Road)

• Kyle Jelinek (VP of Client Services, Oxford Road), and

• Miranda Romano (SVP of Media, Oxford Road)

The team’s talking: Slow and Steady, Spider-Man’s Wisdom, Staying Humble, and more. Let’s dig in.

“ You need to come in and you need to be ready to listen, you need to be ready to observe, and be ready to admit where maybe we were wrong in the past and that there's a better path forward. With that, I think anything's possible.”

• Dan Granger (CEO & Founder, Oxford Road)

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The Good, The Bad & The Unexpected: How Two Rival Agencies Merged to Reshape Podcasting

This week on the Media Roundtable, we’re sitting down with Lex Friedman (not to be confused with Lex Fridman), one of podcasting’s original builders and a leader who’s shaped the business of podcasting since Day 1.

Before launching his own consulting business, Lex played a part in nearly every major chapter of the industry, including Chief Business Development at Midroll, Chief Revenue Officer at ART19, Head of Podcast Partnerships at Amazon, and Head of Podcast Strategy at Wondery. Along the way, he’s helped define how ads get sold, how shows get funded, and how podcasting itself gets defined.

In this episode, Lex opens up on what made podcast ads such a “win-win-win” from the start, why early pitches were simply “talk radio…on demand,” and how a listenership of “completionists” continue to set podcasts apart. He even drops an acoustic guitar analogy to explain why the word podcast isn’t going anywhere, no matter how the platforms try to rebrand it.

"Stop apologizing for podcasting being what it is—because it’s clearly working."

—Lex Friedman

The conversation covers: Ad Load Tipping Points, Completionist Behavior, Consolidation and Mega-Deals, and more.

Let’s go.

Watch the conversation on Youtube: https://youtu.be/HjDmqUiBSQg

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"Stop Apologizing": Lex Friedman on Why Podcasting Will Always Evolve and Why That's a Good Thing

Finally, some insights brand builders and performance marketers can agree on.

We gathered CAOs in finance, food, jobs, and boots to share everything they’ve learned as they’ve scaled podcasting to enviable levels–and whether you’re brand or performance, you’ll benefit from their wealth of experience

On The Media Roundtable, we have one of our favorite conversations from the 2025 CAO Summit. Conor Doyle (President, Oxford Road) moderated ”No More Maybes: Scaling Podcast Performance with Precision,” where he gathered some of the sharpest CAOs who have scaled podcasts and agreed to share their secrets. 

Conor sat down with:

• Gladwell Mwangi (Director of Paid Media, Whole Foods)

• Kezia Koo (Former Sr. Director, Global Growth & Performance Marketing, Indeed),

• Megan Smith (Director, Media Strategy, Tecovas), and

• Nick Fairbairn (Vice President, Growth Marketing, Chime)

These audio evangelists candidly shared how they grew podcasts with confidence and their hard-won lessons from the journey.

They’re talking: Measurement Quality, Podcasts Play Nice, Thoughtful Success, and more. Let’s dig in.

“ Every single time we ratchet up the quality of our measurement, it's telling us time and time again, that podcast is efficient, it's driving revenue and bringing customers in.”

– Kezia Koo (Former Sr. Director, Global Growth & Performance Marketing, Indeed)

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Inside the 2025 Podcast Ad Playbook from Leading Brands: Whole Foods, Chime, Indeed, and Tecovas

Want to see more clearly in podcasting? You need to hear the audio experts who’ve returned from the Summit.

The world’s only podcast solely dedicated to audio ads is back! Presenting Ad Infinitum Season 3, Episode 11 - "When the Helmets Come Off: Kraig T. Kitchin at CAO Summit 2025"

Host Stew Redwine (Executive Creative Director, Oxford Road ) welcomes back Kraig T. Kitchin (Senior Strategic Advisor for Oxford Road & Bonafide Audio Legend) to break down their biggest takeaways from an inspiring 2025 Chief Audio Officer Summit.

“[The CAOs] brought their best material and they didn't hold back vulnerabilities of the goods, the bads, and the uglies of what it is they do.”

Kraig T. Kitchin • (Senior Strategic Advisor for 
Oxford Road • & Bonafide Audio Legend) 

Our dynamic duo’s talking: Taking Off Your Helmet, Audio’s Edge, Human in Middle, and more. Let’s dig in.

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Ad Infinitum S3E11 - When the Helmets Come Off: Kraig T. Kitchin at CAO Summit 2025

This week on the Media Roundtable, we’re taking you back to the CAO Summit for a tactical conversation on one of media’s most resilient channels: radio.

Guest moderator and radio legend Kim Komando leads a panel featuring Nick Macco (Legacybox), Mike Janigian (DraftKings), and Rion Swartz (brand-side growth leader, previously at LegalZoom) on why we shouldn’t write the obituary for broadcast radio just yet.

“Radio is a ‘cucaracha’—we keep trying to stamp it out, and it just keeps coming back.”

—Kim Komando

The panel’s playbook for turning “old-school” radio into modern performance media includes Not Overcomplicating Attribution, Fostering Creative Continuity, Thinking Beyond Genre, and more. One thing’s for sure about radio: it’s ALIIIIIIVEEEEEEE!

Let’s get into it.

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“Radio is a Cucaracha”: How Brands are Making the Most of Tried-and-True Reach — From the CAO Summit

This week, the Media Roundtable is giving you an all-access pass to one of the most talked-about sessions from this year’s Chief Audio Officer Summit: Flipping the Script: Feedback From Hosts to Brands.

Our own Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road) sat down with three powerhouse hosts: Ashley Flowers (Crime Junkie), Nick Viall (The Viall Files), and Kim Komando (The Kim Komando Show) to share what they really need from advertisers to create great ads that actually work!

“Brands, I understand you want to be safe and risk-averse... but know your audience. My audience wants to talk about dating, and there's a little bit of raunchiness and just a little bit of honesty... [an unconventional ad read] worked with that audience. It's memorable; it made them laugh. It also connected what the brand was trying to get across.”

 —Nick Viall (The Viall Files)

The panel delivered a playbook of what works—and, crucially, what doesn’t—when engaging top creators. Let's dive in!

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Ashley Flowers, Nick Viall, and Kim Komando Flip the Script: Host Insights from the 2025 CAO Summit

This week on the Media Roundtable, we’re bringing you inside the opening fireside chat from the 2025 Chief Audio Officer Summit, featuring two of the most influential independent voices in media today: Steven Bartlett (Host of Diary of a CEO, Founder of FLIGHTSTORY) and Ben Shapiro (Host of The Ben Shapiro Show, Co-Founder of The Daily Wire).

In conversation with Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road), and with a stunning oceanfront sunset as their backdrop, our guests get into the real trade-offs of staying independent, even and especially in the face of nine-figure offers; the discipline behind their respective growth; and how brands can unlock outsized results when they lean into creator-led partnerships.

“Independence, in this moment, is a good marker for a lot of listeners and audiences of authenticity. People want to feel like they're not just tuning into an institution. They want to feel like they're turning into a person.”

—Ben Shapiro (Host of The Ben Shapiro Show, Co-Founder of The Daily Wire)

The fireside chat covers: Experimenting for Exponential Growth, Striking the Right Ad Load Balance, and Letting Creators Cook. 

Let’s dive in.

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Steven Bartlett and Ben Shapiro on the Power of Independent Media: CAO Summit 2025 Fireside Chat

This week on the Media Roundtable, we’re taking you inside Podcast Movement 2025, where the industry gathered in Dallas just as breaking news hit the scene: Sounds Profitable has merged with Podcast Movement.

On this episode, host Dan Granger (CEO, Oxford Road) recaps the event with team members Courtney O’Connor, Julia Palermo, and James Ingrassia—plus a special guest appearance from Bryan Barletta, the founder of Sounds Profitable and newly named President of Podcast Movement. Together, they unpack what the merger means for creators, advertisers, and the future of industry events–and everything else they took away from this year’s Podcast Movement.

Bryan shares how he plans to evolve the conferences, balance creator and advertiser needs, and bring new focus to content and measurement. The team reflects on hot topics and perennial trends from the week: rising podcast consumption, the video surge, programmatic momentum, and frequency as the new buzzword. These topics are not going away–so get the scoop from those with boots on the ground.

““The [podcasting] space changes every two years. It feels like a brand new industry.”

—Bryan Barletta, founder of Sounds Profitable and President of Podcast Movement

The recap covers: the Sounds Profitable + Podcast Movement deal, why the flagship event is moving to New York, for good; what advertisers should expect next year; and our team’s takes on the evolving conversations on video, attribution, and programmatic.

Let’s get into it.

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Podcast Movement 2025 and Beyond: Bryan Barletta Tells Our Team What Comes Next

“If the ad load of an episode goes from 5% to 15%, you can reasonably expect a 30-40% drop-off in conversion rate.”
Pete Birsinger, CEO & Founder, Podscribe

For every podcast ad you’ve bought, there’s a hidden variable that swings performance in double-digit percentages. It’s time to talk about that.
This week, in a ground-breaking episode of the Media Roundtable, we reveal our newest report, The Danger of Rising PodLoad: How Increasing Clutter Erodes Podcast Advertising Value. This industry-first case study on ad loads and performance answers a question that every CAO wants to know:

“What’s the right amount of ads for a podcast?”

Giles Martin (EVP, Strategy & Insights, Oxford Road) joins Pete Birsinger (CEO & Founder, Podscribe) onstage at our CAO Summit to present the PodLoad Report. Oxford Road partners with Podscribe to analyze 1.7 Billion podcast impressions across 1800+ shows, tying ad loads to real performance for 159 brands.

For insights that’ll change the way you buy podcast ads, check out the full episode and dive into the PodLoad Report by clicking below.

https://oxfordroad.com/the-danger-of-rising-podload

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The Danger of Rising PodLoad: How Increasing Clutter Erodes Podcast Advertising Value

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