Podcasting was popularized in 2005 when it was integrated into iTunes. While Apple’s initial press release suggested that podcasting was going mainstream back then, it still feels like it has a ways to go to truly achieve impact across the majority of the population. Today, only 26% of the American population listens to a podcast monthly.

In other words, we are sitting on a huge growth opportunity.

The multi-million dollar question is how to reach that 74% and convert them into first time podcast listeners. Dan Misener calls this “growing the denominator.” The word denominator reminds me of math class, so I have opted for “growing the pie.” 🙂

Lessons From Other Mediums

One the best ways to think about growing the pie is to look at other media and compare them to podcasting. What strategies work well in movies, TV, music, books, and magazines? Are there lessons to be learned for podcasting?

In the last several years, there have been key milestones where podcasting has successfully used marketing techniques from other media. Serial used a trailer to great success and now almost every big podcast uses either an audio or video trailer to build excitement for the show before it launches… much like a movie.

Dirty John’s marketing plan was a masterclass in using multiple mediums (LA Times, Apple Podcasts, earned media, etc) and using compelling artwork that resembled a movie poster to drive awareness and anticipation for the series.

And yet there is one big area that has not fully been explored by podcasters — a broader variety of content categories and program formats.

The Opportunity in New Formats

Here’s one way to think about why podcasting in its current form has limited its potential appeal. This is the Apple Podcasts chart from May 28, 2018:

Many of the top shows on the chart reflect the unique heritage of podcasting. Podcasting began with people having long conversations and there are still popular long-form, lightly edited interview shows like Joe Rogan. Public radio was a very early entrant into the podcasting world and it still dominates, with This American Life, TED Radio Hour, Hidden Brain, How I Built This, Invisibilia, and more regularly sitting on the top podcasts page.

You could even say that NPR-style programming represents and values high-quality storytelling designed for a smart and curious audience, in which case Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History and The Daily from the New York Times could be considered part of this genre.

And podcasting’s breakout hit, Serial, years later, is STILL on the top podcasts chart, accompanied by lots more true crime like the Wonderland Murders and My Favorite Murder.

In short, podcasting’s hits continue to come from a small number of predictable formats.

So, where are the opportunities for growth? Let’s go to those other media to see what works there. This is the list of top syndicated TV show in mid-May 2018:

What works on syndicated TV? It looks like courtrooms, LOTS of game shows, sitcoms, procedural crime dramas, and celebrity/pop culture news. That does not look like the current state of podcasting.

How about network TV? Here are the top shows, again from mid-May 2018:

What works here? Sitcoms (prior to Roseanne’s racist Twitter outburst), celebrity awards, pop culture, and reality competitions. Once again, this does not look like the current state of podcasting.

Movie box-office charts are another interesting reference point. These are the top grossing movies of 2018 up until mid-May 2018:

What works in movies? Superheroes, science fiction, horror, action… and Fifty Shades of sexy escapism. Not to be too repetitive, but this does not look like podcasting in 2018.

To give credit where it is due, there are some really smart and interesting experiments taking place in the industry. Stitcher Premium’s partnership with Marvel to create the Wolverine podcast is clearly taking a page from what works in movies and tapping into a huge comic book fan base. This is the type of strategy that could bring in new listeners from that 74% who don’t listen to podcasts regularly.

The Gimlet/Squarespace Casting Call project is an American Idol-style show to find a fantastic new podcast host, and it’s clearly experimenting with what works on TV — reality competition formats.

Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me is the best example of a game show/panel format that has built awareness and a listener base.

And iHeartMedia is producing a mystery series for teens set to launch this fall.

These are all smart, strategic steps in the right direction. So who will produce the first big hit podcast gameshow like Family Feud or Jeopardy? Who will produce the first hit podcast sitcom? Who will produce the first young adult romance series that breaks out like a John Green novel? When will Star Wars produce its first original podcast series? And isn’t The Voice a perfect format for a podcast — precisely because there are no visuals for the judges OR the audience?

Podcasters — we are not creating enough programming specifically designed to reach first-time audiences. Thinking about new formats is a gateway to growing the pie.

Podcasting is unique and wonderful and we shouldn’t lose what makes it special. However, we should also continue to push the boundaries of what a podcast can be, to reshape how audiences see podcasts, and to learn the lessons of other media. Only then will be able to create programming for audiences that are broader than exist in podcasting today.

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