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Glossary
24 podcasting terms used across this site.
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Active podcast
A podcast that has published at least one episode within a set window. On this site the window is 90 days, with a 365-day count alongside.
Apple Podcasts chart
Apple's ranking of the top shows in each country storefront, based on Apple's own signals such as follows and listening. Apple does not publish the formula.
Back catalog
All of a podcast's earlier episodes, as opposed to the latest release.
CPM
Cost per mille: the price an advertiser pays per 1,000 downloads or impressions of an ad.
Download
A request for an episode's audio file, counted by the host. The IAB Podcast Measurement guidelines set rules for filtering bots and duplicate requests.
Dynamic ad insertion
Placing ads into episodes at the moment of download, so the same episode can carry different ads for different listeners or dates.
Enclosure
The tag in an RSS feed item that points to the episode's media file, with its URL, size and file type.
Episode
A single release of a podcast, published as one item in its RSS feed.
Explicit tag
A flag in the feed that marks a show or episode as containing explicit content. Apps use it to filter or label shows.
Feed
The RSS file that lists a podcast's details and episodes. Podcast apps read the feed to find new episodes.
GUID
A globally unique identifier. In a podcast feed it identifies each episode; the Podcast Index also assigns one per show.
Host-read ad
An advertisement read by the show's own host rather than a pre-recorded spot.
Hosting platform
The service that stores a podcast's audio files and serves its RSS feed, such as Buzzsprout, Libsyn or Spotify for Creators.
Mid-roll
An ad placed in the middle of an episode. Pre-roll plays before the content and post-roll after it.
Network
A company that owns, produces or sells advertising for a group of podcasts.
Podcast Index
An open directory of podcast feeds with a free API and a downloadable database of every feed it has recorded.
Podcasting 2.0
A set of optional RSS tags, maintained by the Podcast Index project, for features such as transcripts, chapters and value-for-value payments.
Private podcast
A podcast whose feed is restricted to approved listeners, often used for paid shows or internal company audio.
RSS
Really Simple Syndication, the XML format podcast feeds use to publish show and episode data.
Season
A group of episodes a show marks as one run, using the season tag in its feed.
Show notes
The text published with an episode, usually a summary, links and credits.
Storefront
A country edition of Apple Podcasts. Each storefront has its own charts.
Trailer
A short episode that introduces a show or a new season, marked with the trailer episode type in the feed.
Video podcast
A podcast whose episodes are video files, published through an RSS feed or on video platforms.