Audible has won the first-ever Company of The Year award at the second-annual Signal Awards, celebrating the best of the best in podcasting, according to yesterday’s winners' announcement.
The Amazon-owned podcast company won 32 awards in total across several categories, including Best Advice & How To (Limited Series & Specials) and Best Guest (Individual Episode) for Michelle Obama: The Light Podcast. The series also won the Signal Listener’s Choice Award, which received over 130,000 votes across multiple categories, for Best Advice & How To podcast.
To celebrate the winners, a reception is set to take place on 23 October at The Bowery NYC. The Signal Awards was launched last year by the team behind the annual Webby Awards, which honour excellence on the internet across different mediums including podcasting. This year’s Signal awards received over 2,000 entries and included applications from companies worldwide like Al Jazeera, Crooked Media, Realm, and others.
The ceremony follows the British Podcast Awards last month, which saw over 30 winners crowned from across the sector. The winners of the Irish Podcast Awards and Australian Podcast Awards are also set to be announced next month.
“2023 was a huge year for podcasts, as worldwide listenership continued to skyrocket and new trends emerged,” said Signal Awards and Webby Media Group managing director Deondric Royster. “The winners of the second annual Signal Awards represent the best of the industry: those who are pushing boundaries, telling important stories, encouraging laughter, and reaffirming the overall power of podcasting and its ability to connect to listeners all over the world.”
Other podcasts that received multiple public votes and were awarded a Listener’s Choice award include Small Town Dicks for Best Exclusive Content + Experiences (Shows), Mobituaries with Mo Rocca Best History (Shows), And That’s Why We Drink for Best True Crime (Shows), Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls for Best Kids (Shows), Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend for Best Video Podcast (Branded Shows & Advertising), and more.
Additionally, a number of individuals were also honoured at this year’s awards including Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Michelle Ward, Dan Harris, Carlos King, Bridget Todd, and Bailey Sarain who won Best Hosts for podcast shows, and Jon Stewart who won Best Host for Current Events podcasts. Actor Kit Harington also won Best Guest for an individual episode for his appearance on The Official Game of Thrones Podcast: House of the Dragon, live from the Game of Thrones Fan Con.
All awards besides the Listener’s Choice ones are voted on by the Signal Academy which includes a number of experts across the podcasting industry including Jody Avigran, host of This Day in Esoteric Politic History, Ray Chao, Vox Media senior vice president and general manager of audio, Rachael King, Pod People chief executive officer and co-founder, Maya Watson, Clubhouse head of global marketing, and others in similar positions from HBO, iHeartRadio, Wonder Media, Crooked, and PRX.
