Special Spotlight on...The Podcast Show 🎙️🇬🇧
Hey podcasters,
We are less than a month away to The Podcast Show in London, so I wanted to share something special.
Eurowaves is partnering with the conference again this year to help bring more European voices to the center of the conversation. The goal is to highlight what’s happening in podcasting across the continent and to build new connections with people from around the world. The Podcast Show is showing they’re committed to being the most international podcasting conference in the industry.
In this special issue of Eurowaves, you’ll read insights from three key international players in podcasting and three different regions:
Rachel Corbett, Network Director of Nova Podcasts in Australia 🇦🇺
Konstantin Seidenstücker, Co-Founder and CEO of Studio Bummens in Germany 🇩🇪
Lemya Soltani, CCO and Co-Founder of NextAudio, leading global podcast advertising growth in the MENA region 🌏
Get your tickets to The Podcast Show 2026 🇬🇧
Book your pass to The Podcast Show London: EURW10 for a 10% discount!
Bringing together thousands of delegates from 60+ countries, whatever your role, level or specific interests, The Podcast Show will connect you with the right people. From Leaders in Podcasting breakfasts and TPS Connects to the Creator Mix, it’s the industry’s go-to networking destination.
When? 20–21 May, 2026.
Rachel Corbett, Nova Podcasts 🇦🇺
Rachel Corbett is Network Director of Nova Podcasts and has worked professionally in radio and podcasting for over 25 years.
She began her career as a breakfast and drive host across Australia’s largest commercial radio networks and was producing podcasts as early as 2009, before moving into the medium full-time in 2013, where she was at the forefront of its growth in Australia.
She went on to build and lead podcast divisions at both Mamamia and Nova Entertainment, scaling audio within one of Australia’s most successful digital publishers and leading the development of Nova Entertainment’s podcast network. Alongside her executive role, Rachel is the founder of PodSchool, an online education platform she launched in 2016 dedicated to teaching best-practice podcasting. She has hosted more than 15 podcasts herself and is passionate about helping creators build shows that don’t just launch, but last.
Can you give us an overview of the podcasting scene in your country?
Podcasting in Australia is well and truly mainstream. More than half the country is listening to podcasts every month and that’s still growing. The commercial side of podcasting is also very sophisticated, with clients looking for more opportunities to integrate into content and the ecosystem around a show. The biggest difference for us compared to other markets is probably scale. We have a big industry, but a much smaller population. That usually means shows have to work a lot harder to reach commercializable audience levels.
We also have an interesting dynamic when it comes to international content. Australians love local shows and there’s a real appetite for hearing our own voices and stories, but we also consume a lot of US and UK content. The reverse is harder, however, because breaking Australian shows internationally is still really difficult, even though many shows do have global audiences.
At Nova Podcasts, we focus heavily on local content and “homegrown conversations” that feel relevant to Australian audiences. The other thing that’s probably not obvious from the outside is how much we’re impacted by what’s happening globally. We might be geographically far away, but what’s happening in international markets has a direct impact on us commercially, and we feel those shifts pretty quickly. So while we’re smaller, we’re a very switched-on, commercially mature market, just operating at a different scale.
What do you think is the biggest opportunity for international collaborations in podcasting to sustain the industry’s growth?
Honestly, I think the biggest opportunity is just keeping the lines of communication open. Unless there’s a formal partnership in place, there’s not a huge amount of day-to-day conversation between people in podcasting across different markets. That’s why events like this matter, because you get to compare notes. That kind of knowledge-sharing is what helps move things forward faster.
Video is obviously a big focus at the moment, so I’ve been interested in how people in other markets are working through it because, despite the hype, it’s not as simple as turning cameras on and making more money. There are real questions around cost, workload and payoff. We’re all trying to solve the same problem, how to build sustainable, valuable podcast businesses. So the more we can share what’s working, what’s not and where the friction points are, the better off everyone is.
I also think there’s a big opportunity around monetizing international audiences properly. A lot of shows have listeners in multiple markets, but they’re not necessarily making money from all of them. Sometimes that’s because of tech, sometimes it’s partnerships, sometimes it’s just not being set up for it. But there’s definitely money being left on the table.
For us at Nova, we’re really interested in being part of that from an Australian perspective, helping international shows monetize their audience here and finding smarter ways to do that without it becoming overly complicated.
What’s got you most excited about The Podcast Show this year? Any specific sessions or people you’re looking forward to?
Honestly, I’m just excited to be in the room. Working in Australia, you can feel a long way from everything, so having a few days where you can hear from, and meet, people doing the same job in different markets is incredibly valuable.
I’m really looking forward to the session I’m part of with Coleman Insights, Arielle Nissenblatt and Pantheon Media on podcast trailers. We’ve been working on new research into what actually drives trailer effectiveness, and there were a few results that genuinely surprised all of us when we went through the data, so it’ll be great to unpack that properly.
And then I’m really looking forward to the conversations around the sessions. That’s often where these events are most valuable, hearing how people are actually making decisions, what they’re prioritizing, and what they’ve stopped doing. Those hallway conversations are usually where you get the most useful insights.
Konstantin Seidenstücker, Studio Bummens 🇩🇪
Konstantin Seidenstücker is Co-Founder and CEO of Studio Bummens, one of Germany’s leading podcast publishers. The studio’s portfolio generates more than 15 million monthly downloads and over the past years Konstantin has been behind some of the country’s most successful and genre-defining formats — from hit shows like Baywatch Berlin, PLOT HOUSE and Apokalypse & Filterkaffee to critically acclaimed productions like Cui Bono and Paardiologie.
Studio Bummens collaborates with some of the most prominent voices in German media, including Klaas Heufer-Umlauf, Sophie Passmann and Toni Kroos. Alongside leading the company, Konstantin oversees the creative direction at Studio Bummens.
Can you give us an overview of the podcasting scene in your country?
Podcasting in Germany has had a remarkable run. We’re now roughly ten years into what I’d call the professionalisation era — a shift that really kicked off when Spotify’s breakout show Fest & Flauschig proved that podcasting could be a serious, mainstream medium.
The hype cycle has clearly passed, but what’s replaced it is something more durable: podcasting is steadily embedding itself into people’s daily media consumption. Entertainment formats led by presenters, creators, sports personalities and public figures still dominate, but news and current affairs shows are catching up fast — driven, unsurprisingly, by the state of the world.
What excites me most right now is that we’re at a turning point where individual shows are evolving into genuine media brands, and in some cases full media empires. That’s a trajectory we’ve seen play out in the broader creator economy for a while, and it’s great to see podcasting arrive there too. It really underscores the medium’s maturity and legitimacy.
What do you think is the biggest opportunity for international collaborations in podcasting to sustain the industry’s growth?
For me, it starts with exchange — simply talking to each other.
I remember vividly when we had just founded Studio Bummens and embarked on a kind of educational trip to New York to meet podcasters and studios there. The insights we came back with were genuinely formative for our business and the direction we took. Different markets solve problems differently, and not everything translates one-to-one. But I’ve always believed it’s worth looking left and right — spotting trends early, borrowing what’s relevant, and sometimes just realising that someone on the other side of the world is facing the exact same challenges you are. That recognition alone can be incredibly valuable.
International collaboration doesn’t have to mean co-productions or big deals; often the most lasting impact comes from those informal conversations and shared perspectives.
What’s got you most excited about The Podcast Show this year? Any specific sessions or people you’re looking forward to?
The Podcast Show is, without question, the best international reunion in our industry — I look forward to it every year. I’m particularly keen to hear updates from the major platforms: how they’re reading the trends, and how they’re thinking about the continued rise of video podcasting. Beyond that, I always make a point of attending sessions from international productions and publishers. There’s something uniquely valuable about hearing how teams in other markets approach format development — their workflows, their editorial thinking, the decisions they make. It’s the kind of perspective you simply can’t get from your own market alone.
Lemya Soltani, NextAudio (MENA) 🌏
Lemya Soltani is CCO and Co-Founder of NextAudio, leading global podcast advertising growth. She advises brands and agencies on audio advertising strategies including always-on, dynamic targeting & creative, host-read sponsorships and branded content across international markets.
Can you give us an overview of the podcasting scene in your country?
The podcasting scene across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and the wider MENA region is entering a very exciting phase of growth and maturation.
In the UAE, we’re seeing strong adoption driven by a highly connected, international audience and a mature advertising ecosystem. The market has 1.3 million podcast listeners (Nielsen) and is growing at 30%+ annually. But when you zoom out to the region, Saudi Arabia is arguably the real engine of scale. KSA has one of the highest podcast consumption rates globally - 67% of adults listen weekly (YouGov), with a large, young, Arabic-first audience that is deeply engaged with local content. Podcasts there are not just entertainment—they’ve become part of everyday culture, from business and self-development to comedy and religion.
Beyond the UAE and KSA, markets like Egypt are contributing massive audience volume.
What’s consistent across the region is the demographic advantage: a young, mobile-first population that is highly engaged with digital content. This is driving a shift from casual, independent podcasting to a more professionalized ecosystem. We’re seeing more studios, networks, and platforms investing in high-quality production, and brands are increasingly recognizing podcasts as a powerful storytelling channel rather than just another media placement.
At the same time, the market is still fragmented across languages, platforms, and distribution models. There’s a clear opportunity to develop scalable regional IP that can travel beyond borders, particularly Arabic content that resonates globally.
What do you think is the biggest opportunity for international collaborations in podcasting to sustain the industry’s growth?
The biggest opportunity lies in moving beyond distribution deals into true co-creation between regions.
MENA—and especially Saudi Arabia—is one of the fastest-growing podcast markets globally, yet it remains underrepresented in international content ecosystems. Collaborations that combine global production expertise with strong local storytelling can unlock entirely new audiences.
There are a few areas where this becomes particularly impactful:
Co-produced formats: Shows that are designed from the ground up to work across markets, rather than being adapted later.
Arabic-first global content: Not everything needs to originate in English. There’s a real opportunity to create premium Arabic content with international appeal.
Talent and IP exchange: Elevating regional voices onto global platforms while bringing international creators into local contexts.
Brand partnerships: Global brands want to reach audiences in markets like KSA in a culturally relevant way — podcasts deliver that better than almost any other channel. But for this to work at scale, the infrastructure has to be there: cross-market targeting, standardized measurement, and campaign execution that can run consistently across regions as a single coordinated buy. That’s still an underdeveloped piece of international podcast advertising — and it’s one of the most important collaboration opportunities right now
A key concept here is “transcreation”—adapting content to fit cultural nuances rather than simply translating it. In a region as diverse as MENA, this is essential.
If done right, international collaboration won’t just expand reach—it will help build a more balanced global podcast ecosystem where emerging markets play a central role.
What’s got you most excited about The Podcast Show this year? Any specific sessions or people you’re looking forward to?
What excites me most about The Podcast Show is its role as a truly global connector for the industry.
As podcasting becomes more international, the most valuable conversations are no longer happening within individual markets, but across them. This is especially relevant for regions like MENA & APAC, where there’s huge growth potential but also a need for stronger integration into the global ecosystem.
This year, I’m particularly interested in conversations around:
The future of podcast monetization — specifically how cross-market advertising models develop and whether measurement infrastructure can keep pace with global campaign demand
The role of video and multi-format distribution in scaling audiences
How markets like Saudi Arabia and the wider MENA region are shaping the next phase of growth
More than anything, I’m looking forward to meeting people who are thinking beyond borders because the next chapter of podcasting will be defined by collaboration and global storytelling.