The Future of Podcasting
Last month, I answered some really interesting questions in an interview with Digiperform. This is Part 3 of a five-part series that brings those answers for you to read here on Medium.
Technology moves in mysterious ways and it’s the little things that change the world. One of these things that is set out to revolutionize the way we consume content is Podcasts.
Podcasts have been around for quite some time now, but now is the time when they’re getting mainstream. The market is growing, with a burgeoning share of podcasters and podcasts, all around the world. In fact, Indian podcasting industry is expanding at an extremely fast pace. But what does the future hold, where is the industry headed to?
Last month, I interviewed with Digiperform, an HT Media company dedicated to training a million Indians in digital skills. The team at Digiperform gave me an opportunity to reflect on some very thoughtful questions.
In the previous blog, I rehashed my thoughts on why podcasts are better than broadcasts. This blog is dedicated to understanding where is this industry headed to, especially in India.
Talking about the future…
I think podcasting has been simmering for a while now, and it is fast approaching its boiling point. Figuratively speaking!
In fact, podcasting is in different states around the world.
As you know, it’s better developed in the West. It is also well developed in China — China has overtaken the US in terms of listeners. I mean in terms of creation, consumption and general awareness.
According to the data I have seen, China had about 119M listeners as of the end of 2017, while the US had some 78M. There are lots of other untapped markets, wide open to be served.
Generally speaking, many of the world’s leading media houses are investing quite a lot in creating podcast first content — BBC, Vox, The Guardian, The NYT, NPR, etc., and I think that shows some validation of the potential inherent in this medium. Some of it is happening back home as well, with Indian Express and Mint already out with their podcasts.
The way I see it, I feel the timing is about right for podcasting to really take-off because — think about it — we have the technology already well in place.
Rising internet penetration, rising smartphone penetration, cheaper data packages with huge infrastructure investments like Jio, 4g, 5g, great advancements in voice-based computing along with the need for lifelong learning is an economic imperative now, so there is real impetus here.
In terms of entertainment options available, on-demand audio can provide amazing and stimulating entertainment in an economic way, and culturally we have all happily accepted and welcomed on-demand services into our lives. So, considering these points, we can perhaps argue that the timing is just right for podcasts to take-off in a big way.
What do you think?
