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A. The cultural breakthrough came in 2014 with a very specific podcast—Serial. B. But if you are a celebrity, podcasts can provide a new branch of business. C. And now, despite the growth in smartphones offering high-definition pictures, the popularity of podcasts is booming. D. Now the boom in podcasting embraces a huge range of talent, from professional broadcasters to enthusiasts offering insights on anything and everything. E. Podcasts offer a chance to speak to a very precise selection of people. F. But where did this trend for making portable audio programmes begin? |
The Podcast (播客) Boom
Do you prefer to watch TV or listen to the radio? There was a time when some people thought moving pictures would spell the end of tuning in to the radio for entertainment and information. But radio survived and boomed. (67)
Perhaps the growth in podcasting is not surprising—it offers a digital audio file that can be downloaded and stored for listening at any time. It can also be streamed from the internet and played on a computer or MP3 player. And it's not just broadcasters, like the BBC, who are producing podcasts: now commercial broadcasters, individuals and companies with no connection to broadcasting are making them. In fact, anyone with something to say, and a few pounds to spend on the equipment, can get involved.
The digital audio files are cheap to produce and, thanks to the internet, easy to distribute. Journalist Ben Hammersley told the BBC that "two changes transformed the market—one cultural and one technical." A technical breakthrough came in 2012 when Apple produced the iPhone podcast app, which proved a popular library system for listeners. This was followed by a dramatic improvement in inexpensive recording production and editing equipment. Finally, the development of 4G mobile phone connections and widespread wi-fi meant listeners could browse, download or stream shows whenever they wanted.
It was a piece of investigative journalism hosted by Sarah Koenig, telling a non-fiction story over multiple episodes (集). To date, the first and second seasons of the show have had more than 340 million downloads. Advertisers soon realized the money-making potential of this and other successful podcasts. And where the audience goes, the money follows. From 2017 to 2018 advertising spending on podcasts in the UK went from $10.6m(£8.5m) to $19.7m, an 85% increase, according to Ovum.
In fact, as Ben Hammersley explains, podcasting has brought people into broadcasting who would normally never have seen the inside of a recording studio. "There are of course professional podcasters, but there are many more people who create quality content and do it for nothing," he says. "And that is changing not just the way we listen to audio but the way the broadcasting industry works."
