Today in the Business of Podcasting
Streaming video, music among Gen Z’s most popular media activities by Sara Lebow
New data from eMarketer ranks the daily media activities conducted by Gen Z adults (aged 18 to 26) weighted compared to all respondents 18+. The top activity is watching video streaming services with 46% of Gen Z adult respondents. Eight percent higher than total adults. Gen Z adults are 7% less likely to listen to AM/FM radio, but are 6% more likely to watch a video podcast, 7% more likely to listen to an audiobook, and edge out a 1% lead in listening to podcasts. [Source]
Tinkercast launches educational prodcast program TinkerClass
Kids podcasts are coming to the classroom. Guy Raz and Mindy Thomas, award-winning creators of the kid’s podcast Wow in the World, have teamed up with former PBS Kids Sprout and Sesame Workshop leader Meredith Hapern-Ranzer to launch an educational podcast program. Designed to work with classes using Google Classroom and Seesaw, the TinkerClass program pairs 15 minute ad-free versions of Wow in the World episodes with guided in-class projects (dubbed podjects). Projects like TinkerClass offer the dual benefit of introducing kids to podcasts in a fun and engaging way while also demonstrating the educational utility of the medium. [Source]
Profiting from Hate: Platforms’ Ad Placement Problem
Over this summer the Anti-Defamation League (or ADL) conducted an investigation by searching 130 terms connected to organized white supremacism and antisemitism from their Glossary of Extremism. Of the four major social media platforms sampled, YouTube had the highest hit rate on running paid advertisements on search results for extremist content. Search results included ads from brands like Walmart, Amazon, and Wayfair. X (formerly Twitter) came in second place, returning a lower hit rate than YouTube. Facebook and Instagram seem to have mostly solved the issue as the ADL could only find a handful of ads on the 130 search terms. In addition to calling for regulatory action to add transparency to advertising, the ADL calls for the advertising industry to improve ad placement tech to avoid placing ads on hate content. While no system is perfect, podcasting has the brand safety and suitability tech to identify and avoid such content on a consistent basis. [Source]
WNYC Parent to Cut 12% of Work Force by Benjamin Mullin
New York Public Radio, the nonprofit that operates WNYC, The Gothamist, and classical music station WQXR, announced this morning that they’re cutting workforce by 12%. The memo from New York Public Radio president and CEO LaFontaine Oliver said the decision is due to a “free fall in the advertising market.” In response to the announcement, the New York Public Radio Union has launched a social media campaign calling for donations to NYPR and signatures on a petition to stop the layoffs. While NYPR’s situation might seem counter to headlines claiming the ad industry is recovering from recession fears, it’s worth noting that public media operates under stricter limitations. Organizations like NYPR can have a harder time pursuing the latest trends. [Source]
Data Snapshot
What it says: Nearly a quarter (24%) of new podcast listeners are Hispanic
What it means: More than half (53%) of Hispanic adults who listen to podcasts monthly say they started listening in the past year (vs. 42% for non-Hispanic monthly listeners).
Why it’s cool: Consistent with these results, Hispanics represent a growing proportion of monthly podcast listeners, from 19% of all monthly podcast listeners in Q2 2021, to 20% in Q2 2022, to 21% in Q3 2023
