A word on the subject. At the Podcasting Festival, audio meets the market

The Podcasting Festival is celebrating its tenth anniversary – it is Italy’s longest-running event of its kind – and for the first time is dedicating a whole day to the ‘big players’. On Friday 2 October, in Milan, Industry Day makes its debut: no longer just creators and listeners, but brands, agencies, companies, an award dedicated to branded podcasts and a question we would hardly have asked ourselves ten years ago: how to use podcasts strategically. In short, the real significance of this tenth anniversary is that, for the first time, there is a day designed specifically for those who buy podcasts, not just for those who make them.

Of course, the Podcast Pitch is back this year – the space dedicated to emerging projects, where creators can present their ideas to producers, publishers and industry professionals. Saturday 3 October will be the day dedicated to the creator community. And there’s also room for training, with workshops and hands-on sessions. But whilst ten years ago Italian podcasting was a hobby for audio nerds – a microphone bought almost on a whim and an audience that gathered through word of mouth – today it has its own little Cannes Lions: a red carpet of sponsors ranging from Acast to Sony, a closing drinks reception with a DJ set, and a time slot reserved for communications agencies. And the NielsenIQ data previewed by Audible on Italians’ listening habits. It is, after all, the same trajectory followed in recent years by other forms of expression that emerged off the radar: memes, gaming, and Twitch livestreams. Niches that become assets, gatherings of enthusiasts that transform into industry trade fairs, complete with awards, sponsors and networking. After all, this is what happens when a medium works well enough to attract investors.

Among the themes of the 2026 edition is the video podcast, and this is perhaps the clearest sign of this evolution. A festival that began with a focus on audio now devotes a significant part of its programme to a format that is watched as much as it is listened to: fixed cameras, studio shots, clips designed for social media even before the full episode. It is no longer just a matter for the ear, to quote the most widely read newsletter on the subject, that of Andrea Federica de Cesco. It is a medium that is reinventing itself, and the festival is following it closely – to showcase and promote it. 

One question remains: what does it mean to produce a podcast in Italy today? Ten years ago, the answer lay entirely in a small room and a microphone. Today, it also involves companies. A niche profession has become an ‘industry’.