At the BNM Summit last week, Edison Research President Larry Rosin shared some information that caught my eye: on-demand audio has surpassed linear audio consumption as the primary and preferred way listeners consume content. And I don’t know if news/talk radio knows that or is prepared to deal with it.
First of all, the data makes sense logically, right? We are a completely personalized society down to basically every piece of content, every bit of media consumption, in virtually every way. The harshest criticism of millennials and Gen Z is they’re the “instant gratification” generations that have everything at their fingertips. So, utilizing audio on-demand, rather than at a set time linearly makes sense.
It is in line with virtually every other media trend. Nobody watches live TV — outside of sports — anymore. Everything is on a DVR or on a streaming platform whenever we want to access it. So audio wouldn’t be any different.
And yet, I don’t think radio has done a great job at recognizing that trend, creating content that plays into that trend or having fully embraced the idea that outside of a show airing live in a certain daypart, making it accessible any other time.
We’re not competing on a level playing field with digitally-focused creators who recognize the on-demand aspect of podcasting and audio consumption. And, for the record, I’m a firm believer that there’s a difference between a “podcast” and “on-demand audio,” but for the sake of brevity, we’ll lump them into one category today.
News/talk radio is still largely focused on the “This show airs from (insert time here)” model that it’s looked past the ever-changing nature of the media landscape. Every media consumer knows that those days no longer exist in TV, and haven’t for a very long time. And yet, we expect radio and audio to be viewed and treated differently? Why? Just yesterday it was revealed that The Dan Bongino Show is the fourth largest podcast in the U.S. by unique total audience according to Podtrac. How many listeners of that show even recognize that they can listen from 12-3 PM ET — or any other number of timeslots if it’s delayed — around the country? I would venture to guess not the majority.
But why has it found so much success? Because hardly anyone in the news/talk realm has embraced the digital world like Dan Bongino. From podcasting, to a video simulcast on Rumble, Bongino has recognized that there’s an incredibly large on-demand component of his show and audience, and has exploited it for his gain.
But that’s not been the case for every nationally syndicated show, or every major brand around the country. Many stations don’t have great digital video strategies. Couple that with podcast descriptions of shows that feature glowing descriptions such as “Hour 2” or “(Insert Guest Here) joins to talk about the news of the day,” and it’s no wonder that radio has been passed by more digitally-focused brands, shows, and outlets. And that’s not to say anything of some of the major brands in major markets that don’t even bother to upload their content to any digital platforms to be available on-demand.
At a time when competition for ears has never been more fierce, radio can’t rest on its laurels and expect what worked in 1994, let alone 2014, to still work in 2024. The game has changed. And the format has to change with it. Or, we’ll end up like the newspaper industry wondering how we found ourselves completely obsolete.
To be clear, I’m not advocating for dumping your AM/FM radio brand, or anything like that. But it’s beyond time to wake up and recognize that making discovery and consumption of your content — whether it be with podcasts, video simulcasts, or making it more prominent on your websites — needs to be a high priority going forward.
If one of your shows has a great interview, separate it from the entire-hour podcast. It’s a whole new piece of content that way. Utilize a tool like Headliner.app to turn it into a video for social media. There’s another distribution tool, another piece of content, and another way for it to be heard by a potential listener. Clip highlights for other shows on your station to use as jumping-off points for discussions, and also to promote your show, your website, your social media channels, and your on-demand audio. There are so many ways to get your content in front of potential consumers. But we have to stop relying on terrestrial radio at specific times to do it.
Not only is it another avenue for potential listenership, but it’s also another way to monetize your content. Pre-roll, in-content ad reads, and post-roll advertisements can add extra revenue that everyone in the industry is seeking.
Essentially, the mindset now needs to be “If we’re not making our content as readily available as possible, someone else is, and our listeners are consuming it.” Don’t sit idly by as your audience is pilfered when you could have done small steps to keep them. Embrace digital. Embrace whatever avenue you can to get your message, your hosts, your brand, and your advertisers in front of an audience. That’s the whole point of this in the first place, isn’t it?
Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing bi-weekly industry features and a weekly column. He has previously served as Program Director and Afternoon Co-Host on 93.1 The Fan in Lima, OH, and is the radio play-by-play voice of Northern Michigan University hockey. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
