What ACPM has just changed
ACPM, the body that audits and certifies media distribution in France, has broadened the scope of its podcast measurement. In an interview with The Media Leader published on 10 November 2026, its managing director Jean-Paul Dietsch explained that video podcast consumption is now counted together with audio podcast consumption. The organisation is following IAB guidelines in doing so.
In practice, for several months now, the certified figures have included episodes that come with video and are distributed on Apple Podcasts. Spotify and YouTube will be added gradually, as those platforms adopt the new technical convention promoted by the IAB Tech Lab. No precise timetable has been given.
A format born from filmed radio shows
According to Jean-Paul Dietsch, video podcasting was first taken up by replays of filmed radio programmes. It is now spreading to native podcasts designed from the outset for this dual format. The picture is there to support, illustrate or simply complement content that remains primarily about sound.
He sums up the shift in a single idea: the old boundaries between text, audio and video no longer really exist. Every media outlet wants to be present on every available channel, each with its own uses, its own advertising formats and therefore its own measurement rules.
Certifying real listening, not bots
Jean-Paul Dietsch points out that ACPM is not a research institute like Médiamétrie, Kantar or Ipsos. Its job is to check that distribution actually took place, that it answers a genuine request from a listener or viewer, and that it was neither forced nor artificially solicited. For advertisers, the point is to know that an ad was delivered in the right place, in the right format, and to a real person rather than to an AI, a bot or an automated action.
Publishers, for their part, want comprehensive measurement to showcase their diversification efforts, while media buyers keep asking for more detail, channel by channel.
What it means for internet radios
For an internet radio station that produces its own shows, this move sends several signals:
- Filming the studio becomes a measurable asset: a show captured on video and published as a podcast can now count towards certified figures, starting with Apple Podcasts.
- The podcast remains the foundation: video is added to the audio, it does not replace it. A regular, well-maintained feed is still the condition for being counted.
- Certification builds trust: against inflated or automated plays, a figure audited by an independent third party speaks to advertisers, even for a small operation.
- Get ready for Spotify and YouTube: both platforms are expected to join the measurement eventually, so it makes sense to organise your video presence there now.
ACPM already certifies radio stations, internet radios and podcasts: its Étoiles awards, presented at Innov'Audio, reward the strongest growth in distribution. The 9th edition of this digital audio event, built around the theme of trust and, according to Jean-Paul Dietsch, the result of a collaboration with Médiamétrie, takes place in Paris on 24 November 2026.
Source: The Media Leader