Pivot, HBO’s Succession Podcast, 70 over 70, All the Smoke, Fiasco, Billie Was a Black Women, Conan O’Brien, Masters of Scale, Pod Save America, Jon Stewart, The MLK Tapes, Human Capital Innovations, Jalen Rose Renaissance Man and The Sesame Street Podcast among the winners of the Signal Awards.
In its inaugural year, the Signal Awards received nearly 1,700 entries establishing itself as one of the largest podcast competitions in the industry to date.
Signal Awards – celebrating the world’s best Podcasts – announced winners for its inaugural honors earlier this week, which included: All the Smoke, Pod Save America, The Sesame Street Podcast, Pivot, Deep Mind, Masters of Scale, Add To Cart, The Cyprus Paper’s Undercover, In the Bubble, Chasing Ghislaine, Vergecast, and 70 Over 70 as well as some of the world’s most influential, entertaining and informative voices including, Jon Stewart, Stacey Abrahams, Damon John, Eva Longoria, J.J. Abrams, Issa Rae, Jalen Rose, Viola Davis, Method Man, Laverne Cox, Reid Hoffman, Kara Swisher, and Trevor Noah and Soledad O’Brien.
Selected by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences and evaluated by a prestigious panel of judges, the Human Capital Innovations (HCI) Podcast was not only selected as a finalist in the "Best Commuter" podcast category, but was honored with the Silver Medal award for its excellence in quality and impact.
“We created Signal Awards to celebrate and discover great works being done in the podcast space and the overwhelming response so far has affirmed our decision,” said managing director Deondric Royster. “Our show’s commitment to all things podcasting will ensure the best programming and content is celebrated and rightfully rewarded.”
Signal Award Finalists and winners were selected by the Signal Academy which included Founding Jurors Jody Avirgan (Host, This Day in Esoteric Behavior); Ray Chao (GM of Audio, Vox Media); Rachael King (CEO and Co-Founder, Pod People ; Maya Watson (Head of Global Marketing, Clubhouse); Michael Gluckstadt (Director of Podcasts, HBO & HBO MAX); Anna Hossnieh (Executive Producer, iHeartRadio Comedy); Jenny Kaplan (Co-Founder and CEO, Wonder Media Network); Deray McKesson (Host, Pod Save the People / Co-founder & Executive Chair, Campaign Zero); and Nikki Silva (Co-Host, The Kitchen Sisters Present from PRX).
Podcast submissions far exceeded organizers expectations with domestic entries coming in from twenty-five states and global entries from four different continents. With nearly 1700 entries received in its first year, Signal Awards is already one of the largest honors for Podcasts in the world. Organizers also noted the diversity of companies creating and entering great Podcasts, including global media heavyweights like Apple, HBO Max, National Geographic, Netflix and Paramount to pioneering companies Pineapple Street, Vox Media Podcast Network, Tenderfoot TV, Lemonada, Crooked Media, WaitWhat and Cadence 13.
About The Signal Awards
A comprehensive award initiative for podcasts, the inaugural Signal Awards recognizes the breadth of Podcast and Digital Audio work from around the globe by honoring the organizations, brands and professionals creating and shaping the industry. The Signal Awards sets a standard of excellence and plays a significant role in supporting the future of the podcast industry.