India & its Podcast Industry: a story which never ages
“The Joe Rogan Experience on Spotify”; “Spotify strikes a $100 Mn deal with Joe Rogan”; “Spotify pays a hefty amount for the Joe Rogan Podcast”; “Opinion | Why Joe Rogan’s Spotify Deal Matters”; “Spotify makes Joe Rogan’s podcast an exclusive”
In the past fortnight, our LinkedIn feeds, twitter scrolls, Reddit forums, News notifs, everything has been flooded by three keywords- Spotify, Joe Rogan, and Podcast. With Spotify being definitely familiar to everyone, and Joe Rogan just a Google Search away for few, my 400 Watt spotlight is on the word Podcast, and in the theatre of Indian Landscape.
This article here is a 0% opinion and a 100% analysis on Podcasts, their target audience in India, and their potential growth. So, tune in to find out! (Sorry :P, read in here,please)
What is a Podcast- Is it “Cyrus Says”, or “PM Modi’s Mann ki Baat” or just an audio version of “Koffee with Karan” ?
A podcast is nothing fancy but a similar idea like a talkshow on our grandmother’s vintage radio. However, the word- Podcast is the brainchild of Apple. In 2014, Apple launched a Podcast app in iOS 8, which was simply as a platform to stream Podcasts from different creators, or let’s say, audio content on politics, entertainment, business, history, anything in form of episodes. One major difference between FM Radio and Podcasts is- Podcasts are on-demand, i.e., you choose what you play (or OTT content).
So, as simple as Mann ki Baat is a podcast by the government of India, streamed freely across all kinds of radios, via an app on phone, or through their website, even streams on Doordarshan Television. And as fancy as Cyrus Says is a podcast by Cyrus Broacha, streaming on platforms like Spotify.
The cooler version of Radio- How Indians can love and reach Podcasts more easily than YouTube?
- In India, we love to talk and hear. From Chai par Charcha to Panchatantra’s stories, Shayari by Ghalib, Cricket Commentary by Harsha Bhogle, or a paath of Ramcharitra Manas, we always have loved and consumed content via audio. The growing podcast market in India is just rediscovering this culture- a classic example of “Habit and Journey,” where something comfortable embeds into the subconscious like for me- drinking a cup of tea post work.
- Another factor is India’s smartphone statistics- India homes over a billion phones, but only 40% of them are smart. This poses a grave obstacle for YouTube, Hotstar, or Netflix- how to acquire customers to watch something when all they have is a screen of 2 inches? Through audios, through Podcasts.
- Remember your trek to the Mountains? How was your signal score looking? A 720p HD video resolution requires a minimum speed of 2.5 Mbps, a 360p SD with 0.7 Mbps, whereas a Standard Quality (160 Kbps) audio streaming requires just 0.16 Mbps.
Interestingly a marketing stint by HUL- the ‘Kaan Khajura Tesan’ was a missed-call based radio on-demand for media and internet dark regions in northern parts of India. They had over 10 million subscribers listening to audio content laced with sporadic ad jingles, thus affirming the economy and customer base of Podcasts.
- Podcasts are low-cost to produce, hence it’s easier for them to spring up in vernacular languages, which in turn serves as the product to fill in the comparatively empty entertainment space. For our 2inch, lousy internet target user base, this seems like a breakthrough product.
- Podcasts are like McDonald’s driveway, they can be heard on the go. Non-productive hours like commute hours (Indians spend more time (approx 2hrs) in daily office commute than people in most countries), or hours which do not require extreme mental work like exercising, household chores, etc can be filled with podcasts-to catch up on news/cricket scores, a story/opinion, a quirky talk show, anything.
- Podcasts have no literacy constraints- they do not require you to read. A significant rise in vernacular content both supports and explodes this fact. It further enables penetration in areas with 2inch screens & lousy network connection.
- There is no content constraint unlike FM radio- creators can put unpopular political opinion, talk on taboo topics. With 75% podcasters fall in the 18–34 years age group, this seems like a booming space.
The Economics of it: A journey of User Behaviour, Habituation, and Psychology
“35 percent of people who listen to podcast will continue to listen to podcast but they will be consuming anywhere between five to seven hours of content- MoneyControl”
Linking a user psychology data with economics just at the beginning might seem bizarre right now. However, as of today, Whatsapp crossed 5Bn downloads (out of 7Bn of us :)), with a root solution- ‘Easy Communication’. This to me is a completely user-psychology-driven result, a cup of tea after work is a habit to provide psychological comfort, not a physical need. Similarly, Whatsapp is more of a habit, than a need, like a separate type of mode of communication.
As of June 2019, PWC estimates Indian podcast listener base was at 40 million by end of 2018, a 58% rise from 2018. But if we consider Mann Ki Baat as a podcast, then the baseline instantly moves to 600 million listeners and a Revenue of 50Mn INR, to date.
This is what Podcasting can be for Indians. And once Podcasting becomes a habit, the minuscule revenues from advertising, subscription, licensing content to other sites, and content creation as a service for other publishers will magnify.
Follow Ivy Insights for intriguing product and strategy insights. In case you are an active member of LinkedIn, you can follow #ivyinsights to know more :)
References:
- https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/startups/newsbuzz/telling-stories-through-audio-to-maan-ki-baat-the-rise-of-podcast-in-india/articleshow/71370865.cms
- https://www.mahesh.com/media/is-podcasting-gaining-traction-in-india-finally
- https://www.moneycontrol.com/news/trends/entertainment/india-a-major-market-for-the-podcast-industry-but-lacks-awareness-3756811.html
- Image Source: indianexpress.com
