Following the Audience, The New Direction for Podcasting

Ah, remember the good ole days, when audiences would gather to watch shows like Grey's Anatomy at a scheduled hour over traditional broadcast TV? Fast forward to today, the choices are manifold. Shows are watched over-the-air, on apps, stream platforms, YouTube and clips on social media. All different platforms with different measurement metrics.

The problem is not just with video. Remember the good ole days when a podcast download was the ticket to riches? People would pop into the app of their choice and listen to a podcast and the cash register would ring. Fast forward to today, the choices are diverse. Podcast shows are listened to on multiple apps, streaming platforms, radio stations, YouTube and clips on social media.

With so many platforms, measurement, whether it be video or audio has become more complex and aligning it all is tricky.

Measuring all the views and listens

In a previous thought letter, I wrote about NBC’s effort focusing on multi-platform reach and engagement including their growing YouTube clips especially popular with late night TV hosts and SNL.

At CES this week, NBCUniversal announced a significant update reflecting the evolving landscape of media consumption and advertising. It’s called “One Platform Total Audience,” and the mission is to redefine cross-platform advertising. Using AI (big surprise), it leverages automation and data to offer advertisers effective, unduplicated reach across various screens, including linear and streaming platforms. One goal of the platform is to integrate machine learning and predictive analytics to create targeted media plans.

Podcasting should capture all listens and views

This is where podcasting finds its parallel. Once a straightforward medium – download and listen – podcasting now spans across diverse platforms like streaming on Spotify and combined audio-visual experiences on YouTube. Emulating NBC's model, podcasting should also pivot towards maximizing reach, effectiveness and engagement across the various platforms where content is consumed.

This transition isn't just about keeping pace; it's about pioneering in an age of digital convergence, where content transcends traditional boundaries, engaging audiences in novel, impactful ways. That’s where we are headed. Before we can get there, we need to settle on the right metrics.

Downloads vs Listens

Advertisers are rightly focused on what gets played, and podcasters should be, too. It’s never been a game of downloads, it’s always been about listens and engagement. (Podtrac reports a 23% drop in downloads year over year partially due to changes to IOS 17, so don’t get hung up on downloads). Reach is great, but attention is the name of the money game. Indeed, it is more complicated and nuanced as we add in streaming, video plays, and social clips. For podcasting to evolve, we must redefine what consumption looks like and how we sell it in a multiplatform world.

NBCs mission to package and align viewing on all of their various platforms feels like the right move.

You’ll continue to hear it from me - follow the audience. More than ever, they are on the move.

Thanks for reading. If this Thought Letter was forwarded or you are reading it online, please take a moment and subscribe here