Abstract

The development of podcasting as an additional system of cyberradio stimulates the appearance of networks of participation and communicative interchanges of social interest, and has numerous advantages over conventional radio practices. The spreading of podcasts through public radio situates it within the process of technological convergence and in an Information and Knowledge society which is able to offer different services within reach of all citizens. Only the introduction of new contents and services that contribute added value to the existing ones and satisfy the needs of users will make this system profitable.

Abstract

If there is a company that has transformed the World Wide Wide, it’s Google. Today, Google is much more than just a search engine. The Mountain View enterprise is known for its capacity for innovation, its tools for automated analysis of information, and its business venture in video publicity, which has made it the primary advertising agency in the world. Google is a Netcentric company that is developing a new generation of applications that conform to their fundamental online operating system, moving from the PC to the World Wide Web.

Abstract

iVoox, a service that supports publishing, listening to and recommending digital audio content, is described. By the premise of simplicity, iVoox aims to facilitate the diffusion and localization of audio content. The management of audio archives and the curator role exerted by the user community are the key factors for iVoox to become the reference in digital audio and the sound repository of our cultural memory.

Abstract

Podcasting has created an own narrative that provokes a rupture of the traditional radio´s language due to the transmedia configuration of its contents and its multiplatform strategies. By analyzing the most relevant Spanish podcasts and through in-depth interviews, this investigation presents a cartography of the diverse platforms and the different contents that pod­casters use so as to expand their stories beyond the sound language. Our results demonstrate that podcasting offers its messages in a wide range of platforms, digital and analog, that functionally complement each other. This involves producing materials in different media language. Moreover, podcasting presents a great variety of contents that, instead behaving in an isolated way, conform a logical and coherent grammar.

Abstract

After an initial period characterized by experimentation, amateurism, small audiences, technological difficulties, and scarce funding, podcasting is now fully consolidated. The aim of this paper is to analyze the characteristics of the Spanish podcast sphere: its structural, personal, thematic, formal, economic, and dissemination aspects. To this end, a content analysis of 21 variables was applied to the 206 programs that attained the highest popularity in the general rankings of Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iVoox during the first quarter of 2021. Along the structural dimension, the results reveal the preponderance of digital-native podcasts in comparison with previously broadcast podcasts, and of podcasts promoted by radio stations or those associated with networks over independent ones. Regarding the personnel involved, programs produced by professionals from the media or other cultural industries are more popular than those produced by amateurs, while those presented by men are more popular than those presented by women. Regarding their themes, content related to mystery and/or crime, history, entertainment, and emotional well-being predominates. In the formal sphere, the majority of programs are exclusively audio programs, produced weekly and in Spanish, with a limited presence of the other co-official languages in Spain. In terms of funding, the most common situation is production by media groups or podcast networks, followed by monetization on YouTube and offering additional services. Based on all this, the main conclusion of this study is that podcasting in Spain has abandoned the democratizing potential attributed to it by some theorists and researchers in its beginnings to become embedded in a largely commercial logic.    

Abstract

Podcasts have been offered as a new service by digital music providers for several years now. The shift from Really Simple Syndication (RSS) distribution to central distribution channels has increased the interest in podcasts in low-consumption markets. This study aimed to examine the reasons for the recent increased interest in podcasts in Turkey. To analyze the growth in the popularity of podcasts, a model based on the technology acceptance model and the uses and gratifications theory was used, and a questionnaire targeting the users who listened to podcasts through Spotify, the most popular music streaming service in Turkey, was administered. According to the data obtained, the majority of the participants had first heard about podcasts through Spotify once they announced that they were offering podcasts as part of their services. The perceived ease of use in listening to podcasts served as the major factor behind listening motivations, perceived usefulness of the services, and attitude toward use. Therefore, although the popularization of podcasts in new markets seems to be associated with their unique content, the decisive factor driving the popularization of podcasts is actually more related to the ability podcasts offer users, who are faced with so many stimuli, to access the preferred content anytime and anywhere in a clear and straightforward manner.

Abstract

In recent decades, speech-based radio stations in Spain, whose programmes have been aimed at the general public, have transformed their on-demand content broadcasting strategy by incorporating audio processes in the form of podcasts, followed by transmission through websites, aggregators and applications. The overall objective of this article is to provide a detailed account of the evolution and scope of the podcast as an on-demand distribution channel for speech-based Spanish radio broadcasters, and to reveal how this format is changing the approaches taken by the most prominent national radio stations [Cadena SER, COPE, Onda Cero, and Radio Nacional de España (RNE)], with special emphasis on prime-time morning shows. The methodology employed combines quantitative and qualitative techniques along with an analysis of the content uploaded to the website of these morning programmes, which are part of the weekly programming cycle, together with semi-structured interviews using closed-ended questions that have been given to the main heads of programming and digital areas of the broadcasters under study. The results show that radio stations have incorporated podcast distribution into their usual routine in order to give new life to the content emitted, with the aim of serving both traditional users as well as new generations of digitised native listeners. In addition, they process daily content in an increasingly systematic way, on the basis of a model of mixed management coordination between programmes and digital areas. Similarly, broadcasters have made considerable progress in the measurement and analysis of the time-shifted audience, as well as in broadcast multiplication techniques using push notifications, social media, and monetisation.

Abstract

This article examines the implementation of programmatic buying in the digital audio sector. The sustained growth present in the different markets helps the consolidation of this medium that brings enormous benefits to commercial communication. The main aim of this research is to understand the current situation of the programmatic audio advertising buying sector. In order to address the object of study, an exploratory approach has been carried out by applying a qualitative and quantitative methodology developed with professionals from the sector and supported by the collaboration of entities such as IAB and Programmatic Spain. The results show that there is a greater commitment by brands to invest in digital audio due to its flexibility and the ability to send segmented messages with greater effectiveness and consumer engagement. As a non-invasive medium, the inclusion of digital audio in media plans has a direct impact on listener’s attention. Data shows that there has been a significant increase in the consumption of streaming music, online radio, and podcasts. Nevertheless, investment is still focused on traditional radio and the results of the study show a reluctance to plan integrated campaigns. Moreover, the difficulty in measuring return on investment is a major deterrent to the investment attracted. Professionals interviewed say that the market provides transparency and quality guarantees, as opposed to other problems such as fraud in data measurement that have slowed down investment in the past.   

Abstract

The growing popularity of podcasting is an opportunity for the news industry to identify new ways of delivering journa-lism and to find solutions to the challenges of digital transformation. Podcasts are tools that help the media adapt to the digital sphere by giving prominence to audio to extend their journalistic influence in the sonosphere. Given its disruptive nature, and since it breaks with the traditional content choices available, the analysis of this article focuses on what is offered in the form of podcasts by digital native media brands in Spain. It looks at the extent to which they are committed to this audio content and the type of journalism-based productions they promote and publish. To do this, a qualitative and quantitative content analysis methodology was used. This included an interpretation of data recorded in the Digital media map 2021 (Mapa de medios digitales 2021), updated as part of the Diginativemedia project (2019-2021). An in-depth study of a corpus –or sample– of 29 titles or series of podcasts published by 7 native news brands is also provided. These brands were selected because they publish podcasts and because, according to the Digital news report Spain 2021, they have the largest weekly reach among Spanish internet users. The results of the research show that only 1 in 4 digital media brands that offer podcasts (925) are native (232), and that it is the specialist native media outlets that are most committed to podcasting (140). Native media brands view podcasts as part of their journalism-based products and services, whose presence is beginning to grow as an exploration of their informative and expressive potential. In addition, it is podcasts that tackle current affairs using conversational formats –both audio and video– through serialised, original productions for the media outlet’s website and to provide a range of platforms.

Abstract

The aim of this article is to show to what extent alternative audio media can be built online, not only by amateurs but also as a combination of the energy and involvement of professional journalists and the community of listeners who are ready to support them. Moreover, the topic of the extent to which this form of production is similar to the model of alternative media produced by amateurs described by Hackett and Caroll (2006), as well as Atton and Hamilton (2010), is also discussed. Special attention is paid to the ways this can challenge the institutional media logic and provide an interesting alternative to pro-government public media and commercial mainstream media in a country in Central and Eastern Europe that is dropping down the rankings of the Democracy Index. The podcast Raport o stanie świata and two Internet radio stations, Radio Nowy Świat and Radio 357 from Poland, which are analysed in this article, were born in an act of protest against the negative changes in public service broadcasting, which became a propaganda tool. They are financed by listeners via the crowdfunding platform Patronite and do not broadcast advertising. A framework for analysing their functioning is devised using, in particular, theories of the public sphere and of alternative media. The study is based on content analysis of the call-in broadcasts disseminated for the first anniversary of the stations, Radio Nowy Świat (April 16 and July 9, 2022) and Radio 357 (January 5, 2022). Pre-structured interviews with the patrons of Raport o stanie świata are also used. Websites and social media accounts of these initiatives, as well as press coverage and data gathered by the National Broadcasting Council in relation to Polish Radio, are analysed as well. The research found that all three initiatives Raport o stanie świata, Radio Nowy Świat and Radio 357, despite being started by professionals, share some of the characteristics of alternative media and can significantly change the model of audio production, financing and consumption routines in Poland.