Does Video Drive Discovery? Audio and Video Podcast Consumers in 2024, Part Two by Tom Webster
A continuation of looking at the behaviors of ‘audio primes’ (those who consume 75% or more of their podcasts via audio) and ‘video primes’. One notable difference between the two groups is discovery. The top discovery method for video primes finding their favorite podcast is YouTube with 66% of respondents. YouTube is also the top method of finding a favorite podcast for audio primes, indicating that even for the audience predominantly consuming podcasts via audio, the best discovery platform is a visual one. Audio primes might consume with their ears, but they shop with their eyes, and most podcast apps as they currently exist aren’t video-forward or, in some cases, support video content at all. The race is on for publishers to produce video content to meet their next die-hard listeners where they’ll see it, and for podcast apps to catch up with how podcast audiences find content.
BBC Sounds on the up as digital listening continues to grow
New audience listening numbers show the BBC Sounds app had 622 million plays across all of its content (radio, podcasts, and music) from Q3 of this year. This represents a 3% year-over-year increase in the same period, and 14 million play increase from Q2. Two of the top three podcasts were news shows (Newscast and Americast) while audio fiction took third place with the Central Intelligence miniseries putting the Limelight feed in third place. Overall in the UK, according to RAJAR data for the quarter, podcasts now represent 21.8% of listening time, amounting to 12.6 million UK residents per week. 967,000 respondents listen to podcasts but zero radio.
The MMM fallback by James Hercher
In recent years there has been a resurgence of advertisers and platforms using marketing mix modeling (MMM), which has also been accompanied with academic research finding flaws in the model. Still, MMM was a significant conversation topic at this year’s IAB Audio Upfront, with holding companies asking how audio can get access to their planning tools and MMM solutions. Hercher concludes his piece on the pros and cons of MMM with three takeaways: one should find an attribution vendor they trust, walled garden attribution is useful for brands that exist only in that walled garden, and don’t stress the minute details too much.
Howard’s End? How SiriusXM Will Survive After Stern by Caitlin Huston
Legendary shock-jock Howard Stern is nearing the end of his current contract at SiriusXM and rumor has it the 70-year-old satellite radio pioneer is considering retirement. Recent podcasting acquisitions by SXM Media cover a range of audiences, including new additions like SmartLess and Call Her Daddy along with existing powerhouses like Crime Junkie and Dateline NBC. And while none of the big-name podcasts are behind a paywall like Stern, many SXM-distributed properties still have satellite channels and exclusive content produced for those subscribers. With the current maturation of the podcasting market, it’s possible the departure of a foundational pillar like Howard Stern would leave a power gap filled by podcasting in general, instead of one personality courted specifically to be The Next Stern.
Spotify adds auto-moderation tool to help podcasters manage comments by Ivan Mehta
Back in July Spotify launched the ability for podcast listeners to comment on episodes within the Spotify app. Now the company is deploying moderation tools to help manage and moderate those discussions. These include an auto-mod that does not post comments marked as sensitive or inappropriate until manually approved by the host, and the ability to build a blocklist of words, phrases, and emoji that will automatically flag comments to not post until manually approved. Comments can now be disabled on a per-episode basis. These new tools form the basis of a solid barricade against targeted aggression, doxxing, and hate-raids that run rampant on less-moderated sections of the internet. A move that further reinforces the brand safety of branded podcasts and sponsored podcast content.
As for the rest of the news…
- A revamped Dear Millennial has joined the fwd network
- Inside Audio Marketing shares a report predicting consumers will spend an average of $902 this year on holiday shopping
- Spotify released the next iteration of its Radar program with a focus on helping creators with video podcasting
- The NBA is partnering with select YouTube basketball creators to drum up hype and content as a new season approaches.
