The Hispanic Radio Conference is coming up March 25-26 at the Intercontinental At Doral in Miami. “Podcasting: What’s the Revenue Potential & Can It Help Grow Radio Audiences?” is one of the informative panel discussions on the agenda. On the panel will be Andy Kelly, SVP, Custom Podcasts, iHeartMedia. He shared some thoughts with Radio Ink.
Radio Ink: How can radio monetize podcasting?
Kelly: iHeartMedia is distinguished among podcast publishers by our unique ability to both promote and air our podcasts on broadcast radio and combine podcast advertising with broadcast advertising to give additional power to advertising messages. Radio reaches nine out of 10 Americans every month, and while podcasting is exploding, the medium as whole only reaches three out of 10 Americans every month.
Radio can be the primary driver to expose new listeners to podcasts and as such, we are going to see a lot more podcasts making their way to the airwaves. Podcasting brings extremely high-quality content to radio around the clock, giving program directors thousands of shows to choose from that will resonate with their audience. Better content equates to more engaged listeners, which in turn, leads to higher CPMs.
Radio Ink: How are advertisers viewing podcasting?
Kelly: Traditional radio advertisers see podcasting as a way for up and coming D2C companies to get in the door in audio via direct response. That is an outdated view, as the percentage share of DR advertising is declining across podcasting ad spends. More importantly, with the advent of programmatic localized ad placements, advertisers who don’t want to get their message across nationally, but instead need to speak to audiences at a hyper-local level, now have the opportunity to leverage the medium across podcasting’s biggest shows, in the markets that matter most to them.
In addition, podcasts can take you in-depth with your audience on topics they are passionate about, help you develop deeper relationships with your consumers, and put you in the middle of the conversation around strong passion points — and more advertisers are beginning to recognizing this. Also, advertising within podcasts are noninvasive and are an organically integrated ad load.
Radio Ink: There has been some blowback from podcasters about radio infringing on their space. Why is that?
Kelly: Radio has been around for a century and podcasting for just over a decade, and we think of podcasts as a direct extension of radio. Podcasters can’t really complain as a challenger medium about the incumbent’s ability to monetize audio content. If I have a podcast, I want as many people as humanly possible consuming my content — regardless of the format, because ultimately a rising tide lifts all boats. The more people that tune in to their favorite radio program or their favorite podcast, the stronger both industries become.
Also the two mediums have similar listener engagement, which is direct result of the companionship and loyalty listeners have with a particular host. With podcasting, though, there is a level of creative freedom which allows you to go deeper into storytelling on topics and discussions with your audience than we could on the radio, which is why many of our on-air hosts have successful podcasts. The two truly complement one another.
Radio Ink: Looking ahead for this year, what things do you expect to happen in podcasting?
Kelly: As more and more creators are joining the space, we will see a more diverse audience tuning in to the medium, particularly among African American and Hispanic listeners. We will see more content being created for children 12 and under as well as the rise of shorter form, higher volume “microcasts” which will move podcasts beyond traditional listening platforms to become more of a staple across voice-enabled technologies.
Don’t miss the rest of what Andy Kelly has to say, exclusively at the Hispanic Radio Conference. He will be joined by Oscar Sermeno, Director/Market Development,Triton Digital, and Matty Staudt, President/co-founder, Jam Street Media, in a session led by Eric Garcia, Director of Sales/Radio, Univision.
See the full agenda for the Hispanic Radio Conference HERE.
Register HERE.
