You didn’t think you were going to get through a short holiday week without a little stress, did you?
Nope, it’s Friday and it’s time for a JacoBLOG pop quiz, just to make sure you’ve been paying attention.
Actually, the genesis of this post was a recent client meeting I was involved in, talking about the digital tool kit. In the course of talking about smart speakers, apps, and streaming, I got this question:
“Fred, what’s going on with podcasting? Is it growing? Is the market oversaturated with them? Is anyone making money podcasting?”
Good questions, all. So, I dug in and did a little research. Eight years after “Serial” reignited the podcasting space, there are many crosscurrents at play here, counter-vailing forces that often seem to contradict each other.
So, in an effort to clear the air, to set things straight, and to raise our collective “Podcasting IQ,” here’s a quick quiz based on research headlines – 10 simple true/false questions. Grab a #2 pencil, take your best shot, and I’ll provide the answers below along with my backup research. And no Googling!
- So far in 2022, new podcasting launches dropped 80% from a year ago.
- Podcasting CPMs in June are up an impressive 20% over June, 2021.
- In the UK and Ireland, researchers discovered that 45% of podcast listeners started consuming podcasts within the past year.
- Despite signing Joe Rogan to a reported $100 million contract in 2021, Spotify stock is down more than 70% from its high in February of this year.
- The Interactive Advertising Bureau reports that podcast revenue in the U.S. hit the $1.4 billion mark last year.
- Joe Rogan says he has turned down Donald Trump’s offers to appear on his podcast multiple times.
- Shortly after quitting as UK Prime Minister yesterday, Boris Johnson announced he’ll be launching a new podcast titled “Brexit Or Leave It” on the iHeart network.
- Podcasts that feature guests actually attract fewer listeners.
- Aussies are more apt to be regular podcast listeners than Canadians or Americans.
- Podcasting savant, Steve Goldstein, just wrote a great blog post on how podcasters can best visualize the size of their audiences.
And now, the answers:
1 true, 2 false, 3 true, 4 true, 5 true, 6 true, 7 false, 8 false, 9 false, 10 true
How’d you do?
9-10 correct: You’re as smart as Tom Webster but even classier
6-8 correct: You should pitch Conal Byrne to get your own podcast
4-7 correct: Go to Radio Ink’s podcasting conference later this month – you might learn something from podcasters like Gene “Bean” Baxter
0-4 correct: Don’t quit your day radio job
Below are the correct answers and sources for each question on the quiz:
1.So far in 2022, new podcasting launches dropped 80% from a year ago. That’s true. Even as podcasting has grown its listening audience in the past year, fewer than 100,000 new podcasts have debuted during the first half of this year, according to Listen Notes. That’s down a whopping 80% from the first six months of 2021 when nearly a half million podcasts were launched.
2. Podcasting CPMs in June are up an impressive 20% over June, 2021. That’s false. Libsyn reports that while the podcast cost-per-thousand has
increased year over year, the bump is just 2%. Still in June, the CPM rate was an impressive $23.83 (up from the same month in 2021: $23.43). As you might expect Libsyn’s AdvertiseCast says podcasts with downloads per episode in the 1,000-9,999 neighborhood yielded the highest CPM: $26.55.
What is radio’s average CPM, you ask? According to the Out-of-Home Advertising Association of America (OAAA), an analysis revealed radio has a median CPM of $6.75 for a 30-second spot, one of the lowest costs among major media platforms. Explains a lot about why so many radio broadcasters are trying to score in the podcasting space.
3. In the UK and Ireland, researchers discovered that 45% of podcast listeners started consuming podcasts within the past year. That’s absolutely true, according to an Acast/Nielsen research collaboration. They studied more than 2,000 adults in the UK and Ireland and learned the podcast field is still very much wide open. Amazingly, a majority of 18-34s who listen to podcasts – the demographic that’s supposed to be “into” podcasting – report being newcomers to these on-demand shows. Maybe they’re been too busy over on TikTok or Twitch.
4. Despite signing Joe Rogan to a reported $100 million contract in 2021, Spotify stock is down more than 70% from its high in February of this year. Sadly, for those of you with Spotify in your 401Ks, this is true. The stock has absolutely tanked in the last five months. From a high of about $365 in
February, Spotify closed yesterday’s trading just below $106. That’s a 70% drop, despite throwing massive amounts of money at Rogan and other podcasters. Bloomberg notes Spotify has not convinced the investment community it has done more than throw digital spaghetti at the wall.
5, The Interactive Advertising Bureau reports that podcast revenue in the U.S. hit the $1.4 billion mark last year. That’s true with a capital T, according to the IAB. It’s one of the reasons why Spotify, iHeart, Audacy, NPR, and so many other networks are bullish on podcasts. Podcasting revenue is expected to crack the $2 billion milestone, still far behind radio dollars – but coming up fast.
6. Joe Rogan says he has turned down Donald Trump’s offer to appear on his podcast multiple times. According to Rogan at least, the Spotify $100
million man has turned down the former President more than once. Explaining he’s no fan of Trump, Rogan told the Lex Fridman Podcast, “I’ve said ‘no’ every time. I don’t want to help him.”
But in an effort to dole out equal time, Rogan isn’t enamored with the current President, calling Biden a “dead man.” There’s a lesson in here somewhere.
7. Shortly after quitting as UK Prime Minister yesterday, Boris Johnson announced he’ll be launching a new podcast titled “Brexit Or Leave It” on the iHeart network. This should be true, but alas, I dreamed it up. Johnson is stepping down, declaring “Them’s the breaks,” but announced no plan to start up a podcast at this point. But don’t be surprised if he joins the Obamas, Jim Clyburn, Dan Crenshaw, Andy Biggs, and your mother in the podcasting space.
8. Podcasts that feature guests actually attract fewer listeners. While radio logic might dictate that more talk is tantamount to tune-out, it’s not so in
podcasting world. According to Rephonic, podcasts with guests have larger audiences than those who just feature their hosts.
Not surprisingly, podcasts with guests tend to be 8 minutes longer than those that are guestless. Buzz Knight may be onto something.
9. Aussies are more apt to be regular podcast listeners than Canadians or Americans. Au contraire, it is actually Canadians that profile as the most active listeners. Edison’s Infinite Dial reports that 43% of Canadian adults listen to podcasts at least monthly, compared to 38% of Americans and 40% of Australians. Maybe it’s the cold weather, right? Edison’s tracking for Canada over the last five years is below:
10. Podcasting savant, Steve Goldstein, just wrote a great blog post on how podcasters can best visualize the size of their audiences. This is most definitely true. In his Blogstein column, Steve wrote a smart post earlier this week, “Visualizing a Podcast Audience,” a cool approach podcasters can use to better imagine just how many people are listening.
Rather than using download numbers that may as well be tethered to a dull, one-dimensional spreadsheet, Steve includes pictures of various venues as a visual aid for podcasters. We’ve been doing this in radio forever, and it’s a tactic podcasters can clearly benefit from.
The photo below is Michigan Stadium a.k.a. The Big House, that packs in more than 100,000 people during football Saturdays each fall.
If that’s about the size of your podcast audience, congratulations and respect all your listeners and take good care of them. They are precious.
Hopefully, you passed with flying colors.
Meantime, those pop quizzes can happen at any time, especially on Fridays.
Even during Summer School.
Jacobs Media has consistently walked the walk in the digital space, providing insights and guidance through its well-read national Techsurveys.
In 2008, jacapps was launched - a mobile apps company that has designed and built more than 1,300 apps for both the Apple and Android platforms. In 2013, the DASH Conference was created - a mashup of radio and automotive, designed to foster better understanding of the "connected car" and its impact.
Along with providing the creative and intellectual direction for the company, Fred consults many of Jacobs Media's commercial and public radio clients, in addition to media brands looking to thrive in the rapidly changing tech environment.
Fred was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 2018.
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Just like real radio, it’s the content, local connection and presentation that count.
Indeed it is, Clark.
P E R F E C T !! If I want a 30 minute discussion on how Barney The Dinosaur came to be, I’d listen. (I don’t, by the way.) You’ve also correctly stacked the importance. Content-then local. If 50% of the local radio stations (more than 15,000) in the USA were to connect on that level, we’d be celebrating rather than commiserating the fate of broadcasting.
Indeed we would, Dave.
5/10. That Boris Johnson one had “This one sounds like Fred” written all over it. Definitely some surprises. I just may one day have to join the Obamas, Jim Clyburn, Dan Crenshaw, Andy Biggs, my mother–and maybe one day even Boris Johnson–in the podcasting space myself.
Oh, and as for pop quizzes happening at any time, might I remind you of Alice Cooper’s immortal words, Fred, “School’s out for summer”!!
Yeah, the Boris Johnson fake-out was more than a little obvious. And apologies for springing a pop quiz in July. It’s a cruel, cruel summer.
LOL–literally! Great comeback!