Audiouk issued a statement in response to the BBC's annual plan and announced its decision not to pursue advertising on several UK podcasts.
The BBC's Annual Plan 2025-26, published on Monday, March 31, 2025, contained the following statement:
“As we explored the UK's commercialization options, we have ruled out the placement of advertising in programs funded by BBC license fees to listen to on third-party podcast platforms. We continue to work with Audiouk and our partners to support the audio production sector and the wider market.”
The decision was widely reported the week before the publication, with the BBC cited as:
“We listened to feedback and carefully considered our options. We decided to exclude the placement of advertising in BBC Licence-Fee's funding programme on third-party podcast platforms in the UK.”
Audiouk has now issued the following statement:
We are strong supporters of the BBC and play a key role in the UK podcast and audio industry ecosystem. The BBC plays a key role in the industry and continues to support funding through licensing fees.
There are many strengths in the relationship between the BBC and independent podcasts and audio producers (particularly from a commissioning perspective), but there are areas of improvement, like partnerships.
We continue to work closely with the BBC in future improvement methods to ensure fair treatment of independent producers, including fair commissioning conditions and opportunities to market and develop BBC's biggest shows.
This is essential to harnessing creativity and production excellence that thrives within an independent sector.
Through content created by BBC Studios, we are worried that the BBC will enter the UK podcast ad market.
A year after the launch of BBC Studios' dedicated audio unit, initial concerns about its inclusion in the UK market have not been eased.
Although the BBC says in its annual plan it will not advertise on content funded by license fees, the presence of commercially strong BBC-owned entities in the podcast ad space continues to raise significant concern.
The UK podcasting industry is growing steadily, but remains relatively young. Over 200 small and medium-sized enterprises, many of whom are locally based and represent diverse communities, are building this market from scratch.
The potential disruption caused by such large players entering the space without taking into account these business impacts is awkward.
Audiouk members represent a broad cross-section of the podcasting and audio industry, from commissioned by platforms such as the BBC, Audible, and Windery to completely independent producers who generate revenue through advertising and IP ownership.
What brings them together is a common belief in the “all ships rise” principle, working together to grow the industry for everyone.
We believe there is a clear opportunity for BBC Studios to play a more constructive role in supporting the wider podcasting ecosystem.
We welcome greater transparency and research from the BBC along with many other organizations and businesses working hard to attract advertising investments in Audiouk and podcasting.
It also calls for increased involvement from Audiouk and its members from BBC studios with the aim of exploring meaningful opportunities for collaboration.
Audiouk CEO Chloe Straw said: “The UK podcasting industry is growing rapidly, but relatively young and still young, driven primarily by the creativity, innovation and investment of over 200 small businesses, many of which are regional and diverse.
“As BBC Studios continues to expand into the wider audio and podcast space, we want to aim for greater engagement with the industry to not only understand the potential impact of its presence in the UK podcast market, but to ensure that its entries support it rather than disrupt this developing ecosystem.
“We continue to be concerned about the growing expansion of major BBC-owned commercial companies in the commercial podcast market, particularly in the advertising, and the impact this will have on smaller, independent businesses.
“BBC Studios encourages us to join many organizations that work together for a long time to shape the commercial podcasts and audio industry into today's vibrant, communal space.”
