Observed Signal · Apr 30, 2026 · Product Launch · Source: DWDL · Impact: 2/5 · Sentiment: Positive
German Podcast Awards Set; Nitro Launches Nitro.Laut
DWDL reports that the nominations for the newly created German Podcast Award have been published across 24 categories, with a premiere gala scheduled for 2026-05-13 in the RBB’s Großer Sendesaal, hosted by Salwa Houmsi and Frau Gretel. Separately, RTL’s TV channel Nitro will launch an online audio offshoot called Nitro.Laut in early May, a curated 1980s–90s music stream targeting men aged 30–59; the service is developed with RTL Audio Center Berlin and will be available via RTL+, the Nitro website and aggregators like radio.de. Also announced: Melanie Lidsba, currently program director of N-Joy, will from 2026-08-01 lead the combined program area for NDR 2 and N-Joy, succeeding Torsten Engel, with the NDR supervisory board having approved the appointment.
Introduces new audio inventory (Nitro.Laut) and publishes comprehensive podcast-award nominations — relevant to audio publishers and advertisers but not industry‑shifting.
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Key Takeaways & Evidence Grounding
- Nominations for the new German Podcast Award were published across 24 categories; the awards gala will be held on 2026-05-13 at RBB's Großer Sendesaal and hosted by Salwa Houmsi and Frau Gretel.
- RTL's Nitro is launching an online audio service named Nitro.Laut in early May offering curated music from the 1980s and 1990s aimed at men aged 30–59; the service is produced with RTL Audio Center Berlin and will be available via RTL+, Nitro's website and aggregators such as radio.de.
- Melanie Lidsba, program director of N-Joy since 2020, will take over leadership of the combined program area for NDR 2 and N-Joy on 2026-08-01; she succeeds Torsten Engel, who is retiring, and the NDR supervisory board approved the appointment.
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Max Lotter Named Head of DasDing; New Podcasts & Radio Updates
DWDL's audio update (28 May 2026) reports several German broadcast and podcast developments: Max Lotter has been named programme director of the joint youth radio DasDing (a collaboration of SWR, HR and SR) which will replace YouFM in Hesse and UnserDing in the Saarland. Comedian Hella von Sinnen will launch a new video podcast, "Gestatten, von Sinnen!", produced with Re*Play / Raab Entertainment, premiering 5 June. Antenne Bayern will extend its Italian reach by broadcasting over DAB+ in parts of northern Italy in addition to an existing FM partnership with Radio Studio Più. T-Online and Watson are producing a six-part podcast about coach Julian Nagelsmann, and NDR will take several of its podcasts on tour across Mecklenburg-Vorpommern.
Deutscher Podcast Award Voting Begins; ARD Launches Free Luigi
Voting for the new Deutscher Podcast Award has opened: listeners can vote in three audience categories (Host(s) of the Year, Brand & Branded, Live-Podcast) until April 28. The Brand & Branded prize will be handed out on May 6 at the OMR Festival in Hamburg, with the main award ceremony taking place one week later in the RBB’s Großer Sendesaal in Berlin. Public broadcaster ARD and podcast company Undone have released a new true-crime podcast, "This is America: Free Luigi," hosted by Khesrau Behroz, which examines the case of Luigi Mangione and the December 2024 killing of Brian Thompson. Bertelsmann is expanding its long-running literary format "Das Blaue Sofa" into a six-episode podcast series moderated by Thomas Böhm. RBB Media will take over the marketing of the private Schlager radio organized by radio B2.
First German Podcast Awards Honor Multiple Winners
The inaugural German Podcast Award, organized by We Are Era and initiated by several media houses, celebrated winners at a ceremony in the RBB Sendesaal in Berlin before about 800 guests. From over 2,000 submissions and a roughly 60-member jury, awards were given in 24 categories. Four podcasts received two awards each: Braune Kinderzimmer, Die Peter Thiel Story, House of Houmsi and Take Me Späti. Die Peter Thiel Story won Documentary and Podcast of the Year; Braune Kinderzimmer won True Crime and Best Author for Angelique Geray. Audience-voted categories (over 100,000 votes) named Lottie (Visa Vie) Host of the Year and Mord auf Ex Live Podcast of the Year. The event’s initiators include Acast, Amazon Music, ARD Sounds, CampfireFM, Deutschlandfunk, Podimo, RTL+, Seven.One Audio and Spotify.
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