Podcast measurement attracts investment, but content risks becoming stale

If 2021 was the year in which podcasting was taken seriously by publishers, this year audio platforms have doubled down on demonstrating the effectiveness of advertising for brands. But these changes come with risks. Chris Sutcliffe wraps up the year in audio as part of our program 2022 media moments report.

Podcasting has been a mature editorial medium for years. It almost arrived fully formed in this regard, with high-quality podcasts that have been a staple of publishers for more than a decade. But if the gold rush for podcast revenue began in 2020, and 2021 saw a rush to grab podcasting talent, then 2022 was the year in which everyone tried to demonstrate their suitability for advertising.

If you were a podcast analytics platform in 2022, chances are you’ve already been snapped up by one of the big players. According to Muck Rack, the three most popular podcast success metrics are downloads (46%), followed by listens/streams (37%) and consumption rate (34%). To that end, podcast platforms, including Spotify and Acast, spent time this year supporting their ability to demonstrate the effectiveness of their podcast advertising.

In February Spotify acquired both Chartable and Podsights, sparking the start of a rush to buy podcast ad analytics platforms. Towards the end of the year IAB UK announced that audio would be added to his Gold Standard measurement system for the first time, providing validation for Spotify’s efforts.

Meanwhile, other podcast companies were buying in an effort to solve other fundamental issues with podcasting that prevent advertiser spending on the medium. In July, Acast announced that it had bought Podchaser, a database tool that provides comprehensive metadata on podcasts. It also tried to address the issue of subscriptions and payments with more detailed options, offering the possibility to lump sum payments in August.

Rapid growth

It’s easy to see why the big players are so eager to own the space. No channel grew faster than digital audio last year; Advertising spending in the sector grew nearly 58%, reaching $4.9 billion, according to the latest figures from the Interactive Advertising Bureau. According to a 2022 Edison Research survey, 73% of the US population aged 12 and older – about 209 million people – listen to digital audio every month, up from 68% in 2021; 67% listen to digital audio every week, up 62% year over year.

Another area of ​​growth has been the growth of podcasts as a thought leadership exercise and corporate communication tool. LinkedIn, for example, was reported will launch its own podcast network in 2022. It’s expected to be a play to keep users on the platform, as in-house podcasts are becoming fashionable.

However, podcasting was not immune from ongoing issues around brand safety more broadly. After the controversy surrounding figures like Joe Rogan, podcast platforms were seen investing in inclusion. In February, Spotify CEO Daniel Ek announced that the company would do just that invest $100 million in discovering and marketing the most diverse audio talent. $100 million, for comparison’s sake, was the total amount the franchise paid for one year for Rogan’s show.

Listen: Skylark Collective’s Naomi Mellor joined us on the Media Voices podcast to talk about the biggest podcast trends of 2022 and how publishers are refocusing strategies to engage superfans.

Beyond audio: video and measurement

2022 was also the year in which video podcasts came to the fore. Afraid of YouTube eating its lunch, Spotify announced that it was opening its video streaming capabilities to more countries in April. Video podcasting obviously leads to higher viewership/listening numbers – but they require a lot more thought, both from production teams and executives.

Moreover, while YouTube’s status as the sleeping giant of the podcasting world became clearer this year, so did the fact that its flagship mobile products are ill-suited to the medium. At the time of writing, for example, only YouTube Premium subscribers can play video and audio while the app is closed or the screen is off on mobile – hardly ideal for podcasts. However, she is changing: in August she launched a dedicated Podcast tab in its browser for US audiences.

There was also, as we learned in Publishers Podcast Summit in August, a sense of reality creeps into podcast listenership numbers. While the biggest podcasts can get millions of listens, the reality is that podcast audiences are self-selected, highly engaged and valuable. As a result, publishers have used podcasts for more than capturing large audiences in the service of advertising revenue; they are used for community building, as part of a subscription game, or even as brand marketing for the parent brand.

The turtle, for example, is using Apple Podcasts Subscription Tool to allow users to access closed podcasts – without paying for a full Tortoise membership. It’s a more considered approach to using audio, one that doesn’t simply rely on driving large audience numbers.

But while it’s been a boom year (again) for podcasts, the same can’t always be said for radio. BBC local radio output appears to be on on the verge of being ruinedwhile it is also reducing its international production. It is a sad and humiliating transition for the BBC, which is admired around the world for its radio output.

from Chris Sutcliffe

Chris Sutcliffe is a freelance journalist whose portfolio includes a weekly media-focused column with UK national title The New European, a stint as news editor at TheMediaBriefing and signatures at the Guardian, Alphr, The Memo and more a lot. He is the host of the Media Voices podcast and can often be found tweeting about release news at @chrismsutcliffe.