2023 has seen podcast strategies diverge like never before. Some major publishers have put the majority of their podcasts behind paywalls while others have cut back to the shows that perform best. Chris Sutcliffe rounds up the year in podcasts as part of our Media Moments 2023 report.
In 2022, the tech that powers podcasts was at the top of the agenda. Platforms including Spotify and Acast invested in technology that proved the effectiveness of podcast advertising and allowed for ads to be bought more easily. It was a vital step in the commercial maturation of the medium – and in 2023 we have seen publishers build upon that movement.
One major upheaval over the course of the year was Spotify loosening its grip upon its exclusives. Amid reports that the vast sums the audio streaming platform paid for its exclusive shows had not contributed to its bottom line as it had anticipated, the company announced some of its owned and operated shows would no longer be limited to its own platform. It was seen as an early move from Spotify to shift away from bringing listeners into its own ecosystem, and more about broadening distribution in service of ad revenue.
While the news was interesting on its own for what it said about Spotify – long a dominant player in the podcasting space – it was especially relevant to moves from publishers later in the year.
Paywalls come to podcasts
In September, Axios reported that The Economist was to place all bar one of its podcasts behind a paywall. Every show save for its flagship daily show “The Intelligence,” is now only accessible to subscribers – including to those of its newly-launched Economist Podcasts+ dedicated subscription tier. For The Economist it was an offensive move to take control of its audio distribution, based on the recognition that audio had become the title’s fastest-growing platform for audience growth.
So while Spotify moved to broaden its distribution in service of ad revenue, The Economist tightened its grip on podcasts in service of subscription revenue.
In addition to that change in strategy 2023 has also seen some publishers cut back on the number of shows they publish. In October, for example, The Athletic announced it was cancelling a number of local sports-related podcasts, as part of a wider strategy of reducing its focus on individual teams. In March NPR also stated it was cancelling four podcasts as part of a wider cost-cutting drive. That coincided with a shocking 80% drop in the number of newly launched podcasts, according to research from analysts Chartr.
That isn’t to say that media businesses are cutting back in podcast launches across the board. In November the BBC announced that its global news platform BBC World Service had partnered with BBC Studios to launch “a new daily news podcast which deep dives into one story per episode, with input from the BBC’s global journalists and experts around the world.” Crucially, this and other audio moves at the BBC in favour of BBC Studios, allow the commercial wing of the corporation to monetise its podcasts as it has not been able to before.
Podcast and platform experiments
Chris Stone, Executive Producer at the New Statesman joined us on the podcast to take us through some of his boldest experiments with podcasts at the New Statesman, from consolidating them into one feed to publishing audio and video versions to YouTube. Listen below, or search for ‘Media Voices’ wherever you listen to podcasts.
News podcasts still in demand
There is also a demonstrable hunger for news podcasts. In addition to the example set by The Economist, research from Ofcom found that news podcasts are especially ‘sticky’, with the majority (68%) of listeners to news podcasts tuning in once a week at least.
However, in November Nic Newman, Senior Research Associate at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, told PodPod that there is still significant headroom for growth in that area. “You could argue that if only 10% or so are consuming news podcasts today, there’s a huge room for growth, and I do think it will grow over time, as more talent [and] more interest from advertisers comes into the market as well.”
Interestingly, podcasts are becoming a larger part of the media mix for children. Research from UTA found that around 48% of children in the US consume podcasts weekly, with two-thirds (67%) listening at least monthly. That is fertile ground for habits that should continue into adult life as well, suggesting podcasts as a medium aren’t going anywhere.
As we predicted in 2022’s Media Moments report, the rise of video podcasts has continued apace for publishers. While we don’t have time to get into the weeds of what actually counts as a ‘podcast’ in this report, it’s clear that publishers at least still consider these regular shows under the same umbrella. That growth in terms of video podcasts – particularly on YouTube – is predicated upon audiences’ favourable responses to the format.
Heading into 2024, it is fair to say that the early frenzy for podcast launches has ended. In light of the trends above and continued investment in technology, we will instead see more experimentation in how podcasts can contribute to business outcomes rather than simply audience growth.
This piece originally appeared in Media Moments 2023; our annual report exploring the key events which have shaped the media and publishing industry over the past 12 months. For more including case studies and podcasts, download it for free here.
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