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Podcasting is back in the spotlight, having ebbed and flowed since 2000 when it began as a hobbyist activity.
Recent indicators, according to a June 2017 report by the Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB), have signaled a resurgence:
- US podcast industry advertising revenue is expected to hit US$220 million in 2017, up 85 per cent from US$119 million in 2016.
- Leading companies in the US and public figures are creating podcasts.
- 65 percent of listeners are willing to buy products and services advertised on podcasts. Direct response advertisements are the most effective, especially if they are read by the podcast hosts.
- Podcast fans are among the more affluent and highly-educated consumers. There’s an estimated 35 million weekly podcast audience in the US. They’re more likely male than female, and between 12 and 54 years old. They are estimated to listen to one to three hours of podcasts a week.
Podcast hosts include best-selling authors Malcolm Gladwell of Revisionist History, and Walter Isaacson of Trailblazers.
Revisionist History revisits events that are “overlooked and misunderstood”, while Trailblazers focuses on digital disruption in the music, hospitality, and other industries.
Organizations are jumping in too. Exchange at Goldman Sachs offers insights on developments shaping markets, industries, and global economies; Walmart’s Outside The Box talks about retail and ecommerce; Chanel Fashion discusses — what else — the next season’s trends.
The UK Parliament explains its workings in a podcast called Parliament Explained. Lenovo has its ThinkFWD podcasts, which feature technology information for business.
Media establishments, of course, are also in the game, with online media leading the way. Slate, one of the earliest online media sites, hosts podcasts discussing issues like politics, sports, parenting, and law.
The New York Times’ podcast content ranges from an early morning news briefing called The Daily to book reviews, music, and political updates. In Britain, the Financial Times offers weekly podcasts on such subjects as banking, startups, and management.
Across the Channel, the leading news magazine Der Spiegel has Stimmenfang, which discusses politics. US cable network CNN podcasts on politics and world affairs via its star anchors Christiane Amanpour, Fareed Zakaria, Anderson Cooper, and others.
Organizations gain little or no advertising revenue from podcasts. However, they promote the organizations’ brands. Media organizations use it to support their reporting, newscasts, and online portals, and also to grow their audience. Many hope that as podcasts gain greater traction, they will also attract more advertising revenue.
Whither Asian podcasts?
In Asia, podcasting is in its infancy although organizations have dabbled in it for several years. As podcasts ebbed and the traditional media business declined, publications have put the brakes on this medium. Meanwhile, few organizations have their own programs.
Asian podcasts seek to increase awareness of the region’s languages, food, society, culture, and entertainment. In India, for example, there are English, Hindi, and Urdu podcasts on these topics and more.
Japanese podcasts generally teach the language and discuss culture and food. Tim Romero, an American who lives in Japan, hosts Disrupting Japan, which is about the startup ecosystem. The Diplomat, an Asian current affairs media outlet based in Tokyo, puts out a weekly podcast.
Other Asia-based podcasts zoom in on technology and innovation. Exponent.fm is hosted by Taiwan-based Ben Thompson, the author and founder of tech analysis portal Stratechery, and James Allworth, a writer for the Harvard Business Review. Analyse Asia, hosted by Singaporean tech corporate executive Bernard Leong, discusses innovation and entrepreneurship in the region.
But there are also US-based podcast hosts who train their sights on Asia. These include China Business Cast which is co-hosted by Americans and a Chinese-Canadian who all have business experiences in China.
Apple to the rescue
Podcasting began as ”audioblogging” in 2000. By definition, podcasts are digital audio files made available on the Internet for downloading to a computer or mobile device. They are typically available as a series, regular installments of which can be received automatically by subscribers.
They may use the talk show as a model or be styled as interviews. Others are professionally-produced audio documentaries.
Podcasts were slow to catch on in the beginning, partly because it required many steps to download and play them. They gained more traction when Apple introduced the podcasting feature in the iPod in 2005. That year, Macworld reported that about 3,000 podcasts were created for the iTunes App Store.
The introduction of the iPhone in 2007 added more momentum, enabling podcasts to be as convenient to access as a Netflix show. It has become easier to play them in cars, too, as automakers build wireless media functions into more and more models.
Globally, no organization has a definitive count on podcasts. According to a Macworld report in 2013, there were more than 250,000 podcasts in 100 languages and more than eight million episodes published in the iTunes Store. The data is opaque in that it does not give the number of listeners.
Obstacles for advertising revenue
Two key hurdles need to be addressed before podcasts gain mainstream acceptance as an advertising medium. One lies in the discovery process. Currently, it rests on the listener’s initiative and interest to identify his choices by going through the long list of podcasts available on such platforms as iTunes, Spotify, SoundCloud, and Google Play.
Another hurdle is advertising revenue. Most podcast hosts do it because they want to share their content or support their content portals. Trying to get advertising revenue in Asia, US or anywhere else is challenging because crucial metrics are unavailable.
A podcast’s success has chiefly been determined by the frequency of downloads, but no one is sure what actually happens to an episode after it has been downloaded.
This is the deal breaker for advertisers and podcasters. Apple’s coming update to iOS 11 can mitigate these challenges. In the update expected before year-end, Apple will provide comprehensive analytics about listener behavior to podcast publishers.
This is the moment of truth. Podcast producers will finally discover whether their belief in uniquely strong content can attract listeners and convince advertisers to put money in this medium.
Podcasts can carve out a greater space as an information medium for all. They are free and not tied to a particular location in that they can be listened to at any place and time.
Asian hosts and producers face the same hurdles as their US counterparts. The tiny Asian podcasting village is moving at a snail’s pace. However, with more analytics available, advertisers will perk up at new opportunities to market their products and services.
Success also depends on ensuring that podcasts can be easily discovered. Traditional and online media outlets have an edge because they already have websites they can use to promote podcasts to readers. Distribution via social media is also important. It also helps if the podcast hosts are “brands”, personalities that audiences already recognize.
With these advantages, media outlets and organizations in Asia can stake their claim early and carve out their space in this medium. They have to stride out now to experiment, reiterate, and reinvent. In the process, they will also educate potential advertisers and listeners, and make them aware of the opportunities waiting to be unleashed.
The tipping point for podcasting is on the horizon.
More podcasts you should check out
Asymco
Industry analyst Horace Dediu is a busy host. He helms two ongoing podcasts: The Critical Path covers mobile computing and related industries, while Asymcar examines the car industry in detail.
Recode/Recode Media
These are podcasts by tech news portal Recode. If you want to listen to a who’s who in the tech industry, these two podcasts are the best. Kara Swisher, a co-founder of Recode, is the host of Recode Decode. Her questions and her tongue are equally sharp. Her colleague, Peter Kafka who covers the media industry, hosts Recode Media.
Daring Fireball
For Apple observers and fans, John Gruber’s podcasts are a must as they focus on the latest happenings in the Apple sphere. It is long-winded but it does provide good insights into Apple’s products and services. It is one of a select few media outlets to which Apple accords access to its key executives. Apple’s senior vice-president for worldwide marketing, Phil Schiller, for example, has been featured here discussing its latest products. This podcast is part of the website of the same name.
Katie Couric
A conversational type of podcast. Couric is humorous but her questions are to the point. An enjoyable podcast, each episode lasts less than half an hour.
Listen to Lucy by Lucy Kellaway
This is a short enthralling five-minute podcast about management. Financial Times columnist Lucy Kellaway reads her FT columns on this podcast. Her dry wit and superb command of the English language make listening to it a joy. Alas, Kellaway has left the FT after more than three decades, to teach mathematics in a “challenging” London school. In the meantime, do listen to her previous podcasts. They are most entertaining.
This post Opinion: We’re on the verge of a podcasting boom in Asia appeared first on Tech in Asia.
from Tech in Asia https://www.techinasia.com/opinion-verge-podcasting-boom-asia
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