The organizers of The Podcast Show 2026 have outlined several audio-focused discussion themes ahead of this year’s event, which returns to London for its fifth edition later this month.
Running May 21-22, The Podcast Show brings together podcast producers, platforms, advertisers, talent agencies and creators from across the global audio sector. Organizers said this year’s program will place particular emphasis on creator-led business models, audience community building and the changing economics of listener attention.
One of the new additions to the 2026 program is the Creator First Stage, hosted by creator-first management agency Arcade. According to the organizers, the track will examine podcasting increasingly through the lens of creator businesses rather than traditional publishing structures, reflecting what they describe as the growing importance of hosts building direct audience communities and diversified monetization models.
Across the wider conference agenda, several sessions point to similar concerns about how podcasting is evolving beyond download numbers alone.
A panel titled “From a Following to a Fandom” will look at how creators convert passive listeners into active communities, with discussion centered on long-term engagement, audience loyalty and commercial opportunities that extend beyond conventional ad placement.
Another session, “Attention Spans are Shrinking, Or Are They?”, will examine whether audiences are genuinely losing the capacity for long-form engagement or simply becoming more selective about the content they choose to spend time with. Organizers said the discussion will challenge the assumption that shorter is always stronger, particularly as long-form podcasts continue to attract sustained listening.
You can find more information about the sessions here and the speakers here.
Taken together, the previewed sessions suggest this year’s Podcast Show will focus less on podcast launch mechanics and more on a broader strategic question now confronting the sector: how creators and publishers build durable listener relationships in an increasingly crowded attention economy.
Advance registration rates are available until May 14, according to the event organizers. You can find out about registration rates here.
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