Sharp Takes and Timeless Lessons from Podcasting and Beyond

In this edition of the Amplifi Media Thought Letter, we’ve curated a collection of sharp insights and standout perspectives from recent conversations, interviews, and reflections. Some are my own observations, while others come from industry leaders who’ve shared their wisdom with us. Consider this a quick highlight reel of actionable ideas and thought-provoking takeaways to help you navigate the ever-evolving world of audio, podcasting, and media. Here we go:

Steve Pratt on being different

The call to action for marketers and content creators looking to earn people's time and attention is to make awesome stuff. Stuff that is different from everybody else and creates unique value for the consumer or listener, or you won't get their time and attention.

Elsie Escobar: inhale and exhale because video is a thing

"A growing number of new podcasters are now going into the medium with video in mind from the very beginning."

Younger listeners are more visually oriented and engage with podcasts through platforms like YouTube and TikTok. This shift requires podcasters to diversify their content across multiple platforms to reach these new audiences effectively.

The cost of dull is tune-out, lack of attention, and dismissal.

This past summer at Podcast Movement, we joined with Westwood One and System 1 to share a breakthrough study about unleashing the power of audio promos. In a world overflowing with content, what’s the cost of being dull? Capturing attention isn't just about being loud or flashy. It's about being relevant, engaging, and delivering a message that resonates. If your promo doesn’t capture attention, it's not just ignored. It's dismissed. The best promos generate heat, arouse curiosity, and create that all-important sense of FOMO (Fear of Missing Out).

Bumper’s Dan Misener is all about engagement vs. reach

"Anybody can get traffic. You can go buy traffic… but it's incredibly difficult to get and build an audience over time."

“I worry a lot about the conflation of audience and traffic. A lot of us have been chasing traffic. We've seen how volatile and the ruin that lies down that path. We're still seeing downloads going down, but we're seeing engagement steadily going up.”

Subscriptions for podcasts is a tough road

Expecting audiences to pay for another show or podcast network subscription is a tough sell. The audio landscape is saturated with excellent free content.  To ask people to pay for your podcast you need to be exceptional, and your content not easily duplicated.  A high bar.  Beyond podcasting, subscription churn is on the rise. 

Acast CEO Ross Adams: Multi-platform as a new way of thinking

"For us, it’s about how we monetize the podcaster's audience. This involves creating solutions that meet audiences where they are, whether that’s on a podcast app, YouTube, or even TikTok. The aim is to create a seamless experience for both the listener and the advertiser, regardless of the platform.”

Audacy’s Jenna Weiss-Berman thinks podcasting is moving into a great place

“I'm feeling more bullish and positive about podcasting than I ever have. We were running the business of podcasting not necessarily in the smartest way, because it was a brand-new industry. There were these huge minimum guarantees that we could never make back.

We're seeing tons of new advertisers and content. We need to be making smart deals.”

In an aging media world, podcasting delivers young audiences

The median age of podcast listeners is a youthful 34, nearly three decades younger than the median age of TV and newspaper audiences.  Podcasting has three not-so-secret ingredients that traditional media struggle to match: intimacy, flexibility and loyalty, which makes podcasting an ideal platform for engaging storytelling, niche topics, and fresh takes. 

 What To Do about shrinking attention spans 

In an era where attention spans are shrinking, offering fewer but higher-quality choices is likely to enhance user engagement and satisfaction. Much of the content produced today is similar, making it difficult for audiences to differentiate between options. Consider a tough rethink if your content isn’t standing out from the pack.

Why many branded podcasts fail

Companies are jumping on the branded podcast bandwagon only to be disappointed later either because the content missed the mark, or it was difficult to land an audience.  Branded content is the hardest form of podcast content and won’t work for everyone – but it is a fantastic storytelling and customer relationship tool for some brands. We continue to co-produce what many consider the top branded podcast on behalf of a large food-cased company.

Some things people are doing when they aren’t listening to your podcast

YouTube – We know YouTube is a juggernaut with roughly 14 BILLION videos on the platform. Mr. Beast is the most watched in the U.S. He has 237 million subscribers and had 4 billion views in 2023.

YouTube Shorts – YouTube’s short-form video format was designed to compete with TikTok and has more than 2 billion monthly logged-in users. On average, more than 70 billion YouTube Shorts were viewed daily last year. Variety

TikTok –TikTok has a whopping 150 million active users in the U.S. On average, people spend 54 minutes per day scrolling.

Streaming video – Streaming video now beats linear (regular) TV in total day viewing.  It accounts for 3 hours and 11 minutes every day. 7.7% of all television time in December was spent with Netflix. Here’s an interesting stat in a podcast world contracting a bit: in 2022, Netflix had 107 new releases – that number dropped to just 68 in 2023.

What about regular TV? Americans are watching less TV. Bloomberg reports weekly time spent watching TV has dropped by three hours over the last decade. Today, most consumption is done by older viewers, who still watch plenty of TV. And what are the big TV hits these days? It’s all football. Back in 2012-13, 20 shows drew 10M+ viewers. Zero shows hit that number last year (10 years later).  

Just a few highlights from The Thought Letter in 2024. More in 2025. Our first stop is CES. Thanks for reading.

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