Podcasts Are Definitely a Thing
Podcasting has been around since at least the late 90s. Dismissed as a fad for years–or, at the very least, something that nerds did for free with no hope of ever monetizing things–podcasts are now enjoying a renaissance. And with this resurgence comes new respect for the medium. As a co-host of a podcast myself (cf. Geeks&Beats), this pleases me to no end. RAIN reports further.
Last week iHeartMedia hosted a “Soundfront” to introduce a slate of new podcasts. It borrowed (and renamed) the model of Upfronts from the television industry, where new shows are introduced to advertisers and agencies.
Today National Public Radio (NPR) will hold an upfront (no renaming in this case) for marketers, where leading public radio podcasts will be shown off as advertising opportunities. The NPR event will be co-produced by flagship stations WNYC (New York) and WBEZ (Chicago). Hosts and producers from This American Life, Freakonomics Radio, Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me, Radiolab, and (of course) Serial, will be onstage. A music performance by Lord Huron is scheduled.
(If you’re wondering about advertising on NPR, FCC restrictions on commercials in NPR broadcasts do not apply to digital platforms, so podcasts of NPR programs carry ads that sound more or less like ads in other podcasts.)
Both of these podcast upfront-style events are timed to synchronize with the 2015 Digital Content NewFronts, a week-long exhibition of digital video products aimed at TV advertisers.
This is only gonna get bigger. Keep reading.