The Podcast from the niche to the crowd

It’s not the radio, it’s not social media, it’s not just the internet, it’s not webinairs, public lectures or books to read. None of this but, at the same time, something that contains them all. They are podcasts. They are liked more and more, they grow more and more. From being a niche phenomenon of digital audio reserved for a few enthusiasts of specific subjects or events, they are spreading like wildfire and many have understood its great economic potential. What communication experts define as a tool that can be accessed in modality “pull” – or those who are interested go to look for the desired content on the net or on dedicated platforms – in a short time it could turn into a phenomenon “push”, that is not sought but pushed by advertising and marketing. No longer a niche vehicle but finally a mass vehicle. For this to happen, we need numbers, large numbers. And those, apparently, are coming.

Ipsos Digital Audio Survey 2021

Something is moving. After the boom of 2020, podcast growth continues. This is confirmed by the data from the Ipsos Digital Audio Survey 2021. Listening to podcasts reaches 31% in 2021 among 16-60 year-olds (about 9.3 million people), with a slight growth but which consolidates the positive trend recorded. last year (in 2020 podcasts had seen a jump of 4 percentage points, going from 26% to 30%) and this confirms the fact that the diffusion of the format is a stable and non-transitory result of the digitization process that took place in the pandemic context . In addition, other data confirm that the format remains remarkably young (44% under 35), but in 2021 the target adults, graduates (27%) and professionals (13%) are also growing. The smartphone is further strengthened as the most used device for listening to podcasts (79%), the computer (43%) remains in second place, but in decline, as well as tablets (26%). The elective place of listening is definitely the home (81%), followed at a distance by the car (29%) and by listening in the street / walking (23%), while the use on means of transport (19%) is still in decrease (involving 26% of users in 2019), likely the result of the impact of the pandemic on mobility.

The Podcasting Festival

The sixth edition of the podcasting festival. This year, due to the pandemic, the festival was divided into two days and not three. One day totally online and one in attendance at Le Village by CA. Supported and promoted by the Assipod – Italian Podcasting Association – the event involved professionals and enthusiasts of the culture of audio in communication. The podcast, say the organizers of the festival, wants to put the content in the foreground. The trend is to use podcasts oriented towards edutainment, dissemination and information, creating a protected space in which to tackle even difficult social issues. The pandemic has generated new information needs. Radio, brands and major publishing companies have understood this and have decided to invest in this new sector. At the same time young and old.

Also Sky Tg24 at the two days of the Festival

The Sky Tg24 podcasts were also presented at the 2021 edition of the Podcasting Festival. In particular, there was talk of “trafug’arte”, the podcast on art curated by John Pedeferri, among the various products this year by the allnews channel directed by Giuseppe De Bellis. Among the podcasts that you can find on the SkyTg24.it site, the one about books “Between the lines” by Filippo Maria Battaglia, on Millennials “M” by Chiara Piotto and on cybersecurity “1 2 3 4” by Alberto Giuffrè. And then again “Science please” by Roberto Pallladino, the “Ghitt Parade“by Nicola Ghittoni on music and history and the very recent “Youth and the pandemic” by Emanuela Ambrosino. Podcasts produced internally by the editorial staff of Sky Tg24 to which others will soon be added.

There is room for podcasts. And television as well as radio have a primary role – the Ipsos research underlines – in promoting their knowledge and dissemination. From phenomenon “pull” a phenomenon “push” the step is short. The “take-off” of podcasting – as a means of using content – seems only a matter of time.