A podcast revolution by accident

How did my newsroom (SME.sk in Slovakia) start a podcast revolution, what we learned and some data we found out about along the way.

This presentation was presented during the Digital Freedom Festival 2019 in Riga, Latvia.

And here is a YouTube video of the presentation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9TjBJIlR6Q

Transcript

1. A podcast revolution by accident @davidtvrdon | fb.me/david.tvrdon
2. bit.ly/DFFpodcasting
3. FAQ • What is a podcast? • Chicken or egg? • Podcasting & €€? • How?
4. Number of podcasts in Slovakia
5. > 100.000 people listening to podcasts by SME.sk
6. An experiment
7. The Daily Up First Inspiration
8. • 1 host • 1 guest (rarely 2) • 1 topic • news briefing • weather + name day • 15 - 20 mins
9. 13 podcasts SME.sk is has 13 podcasts
10. 0 7 hrs Audio production per week at SME.sk - change 2016/2019
11. Why it matters?
12. Time per real user listening to audio compared to web 20 mins / 3 hrs
13. Who is reading? • Older (35+) • Men • Weekdays
14. Who is listening? • Young (<35) • Highly educated • Extremely engaged
15. 1800+ Podcast listeners in Slovakia survey data by SME.sk [ENG]
16. Age of podcast listeners in Slovakia
17. Almost ¾ with university education
18. 90% listens several times a week and more
19. Where? 1. At home (63%) 2. Bus, car (30%) 3. At work (25%) 4. Walking (25%) 5. Working out (8%) Could pick several answers
20. How? 1. Apple podcasts 2. Spotify 3. Online audio player 4. Google podcasts
21. Getting listeners to subscribe
22. Spotify is especially on the rise in podcast listening
23. 90% of episode is consumed on average
24. Monetisation
25. 0 €€ €€€ From zero in the beginning to five figures after two years
26. Digital audio advertising to become a €1.5bn market Link to the study
27. Monetisation options • Audio ads • Sponsorships • Native advertising • Podcast as a product • Subscriptions • Events • Merchandising • Training
28. 75% of podcast listeners told us they don’t mind ads
29. “For heavy users, voice is now the first and final contact point with technology (often replacing the smartphone or radio in the bedroom). This suggests that voice could become a critical gateway to media going forward.” Nic Newman, Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism Link to the study
30. FYI
31. Top shows by category 1. daily news 2. history 3. tech news 4. interviews 5. science 6. travel 7. economics & business 8. sports
32. Top 5 revenue generating podcast Categories in US / Europe 1. Sports / Sports 2. Culture / Culture 3. History / Technology 4. Politics / Comedy 5. Comedy / History Link to the report
33. Lessons learned 1. Be the chicken 2. € follows audience 3. Subscribers 4. Transparency 5. Explanation
34. Some useful podcasting resources • Podcasting 101 by Google & PRX • Anchor.fm - a free podcasting platform • All you need to start [RadioPublic] • Tools for podcasters [RadioPublic] • The Future of Voice - Reuters report • Inside the Strategy of Facebook’s Podcast • Guardian Voice Lab experiments • Investing in the Podcast Ecosystem in 2019 • The podcast consumer 2019 [Edison Research] • Audio into video [Headliner App] • Online audio editing platform by Spotify [Soundtrap] • Podcast charts [Chartable] • Podcast Measurement Technical Guidelines [IAB]
35. Thank you @davidtvrdon | fb.me/david.tvrdon