Audio made its presence felt at this year’s Cannes Lions. Radiocentre CEO Matt Payton reflects on the festival and the latest findings from its new audio effectiveness research.

Long Wave radio is no more, and a transition from terrestrial broadcasting to internet-delivered TV is expected by 2034. If we are to embrace the future, we should preserve the past, writes Ray Snoddy. 

Professor Mark Ritson, who presented the findings at Cannes Lions, said audio was an “unfair advantage hiding in plain sight”.

To kick off a three-part mini-series on the future of podcasting, The Media Leader asked industry experts to define what a podcast is now that the channel’s ecosystem has broadened significantly.

The survey also found that more Britons prefer audio-only podcast formats.

The addition of Audiomack, Sonos, Boom Radio and CountryLine takes Octave’s audio audience to 15.5m monthly listeners.

The platform, AdPower, enables businesses to book media “as easily as booking an Uber”.

Its the first large-scale UK study to measure how British audiences experience podcast advertising and was debuted at The Podcast Show London on 20 May.

The media and entertainment group is now the only UK media owner able to offer advertisers audio, outdoor, and premium video all in one place.

The BBC continues to lead the breakfast time slot, despite Radio 2 seeing marginal declines of 0.6% year-on-year and 0.8% from Q4 2025.