As a subject discussed for seemingly decades, News Talk Radio stations need to reach younger generations as they age. There is no question that due to the fragmentation of the market, reaching Millennial and Gen Z Listeners will be a tremendous challenge for News Talk hosts and Programmers. News Talk stations are aging. Most stations in the News Talk genre listeners are 55 to 60 years of age. (Your station may vary, but probably not.) At the 2024 BNM News Summit in Washington DC, Laura Ivey and Larry Rosin with Edison Research had some very interesting data on spoken word content consumed by 13 – 24-year-olds.
This information was quite encouraging. Now, most of the spoken word information consumed by this group was in the podcast space. As we know, there is so much podcast product available that there is a glut of choices. Laura provided me with a copy of a recent study on Gen Z trends on listening. I am going to share some data that will be highly encouraging for us in the News Talk industry.
77% of Gen Z consumes spoken word content from podcasts every month. I find this is highly encouraging. These people are seeking information and entertainment. Now, we have understood some of the triggers that bring that audience to a podcast. We can safely assume that some attraction is peer pressure related. I think that it is also safe to assume that this generation has been conditioned for an on-demand world. Spoken word stations frequently repurpose on-air content to the podcast space and call it a day. I think that this is a terrible idea. Ok, your morning show interviewed Kamala Harris or Donald Trump this morning, that will get a lot of hits.
The most important thing on podcasts is to provide unique content that is long form. I really think that the podcast should be considered like a different show. Podcasts are a different type of media than radio. Treat podcasts that way. In my thinking, News Talk radio is failing in providing unique content that is actually built for a podcast. This should be available on all the social media and on video especially YouTube and TikTok. If your on-air studio is available, record and shoot the podcast there.
If the on-air studio is unavailable, record the podcast in a production studio that has been decorated and has plenty of signage for your station. The content for these podcasts should intentionally be geared for a 30-year-old. Find guests that are at the center of the cultural mood of your community. Find guests that are discussing the big issues of people in this age group. How can you have a great time on a tight budget? How to prepare to purchase that first home? You can come up with ideas. Unique content for a new platform.
75% of Gen Z listened to a podcast in the past week. This is huge. As these people age, how do we convert them? I think it is to serve up podcast content catered to this crew. Perhaps, you have a Gen Z gal or guy on staff that you can coach up. You can have them do a weekly podcast and hit this demo hard, while keeping some of the branding that makes your News Talk station great. There is a balance here and I think that this creates unique opportunities with little risk. I get it, we are all stretched. I think that this type of initiative is important.
In most markets, the News Talk station is the biggest biller in the cluster. There are certainly more opportunities to monetize the content. This may be a time for the radio industry to analyze the importance and impact of expanding spoken word content on youth focused formats. There is more opportunity to make money and build a community focused bridge to grow audience and revenue on the spoken word stations in your market.
57% of Gen Z says that they started consuming spoken word content through podcasts when they were teenagers. Podcasts are the gateway drug to News Talk, like weed is to heroin. I think that this is all about unique content. My opinion may disagree with your company’s podcast initiative. Unique Content that is designed for the podcast consumer is essential. Radio content is designed for radio. Podcast content should only be designed for podcasts. I love Colin Cowherd, but his show is really designed for TV. There is a loss in translation for radio. We can’t see game clips or the graphics. Podcast content should have an actual video component.
22% of the Gen Z Demo consumes 10 hours or more podcast content in a week. That is a huge number. What are we doing to hit that market?
25% of Gen Z discovered a podcast on social media. That is the power of video that we should understand. The two social media platforms where people discover podcasts are on TikTok and YouTube. Both are video platforms. What is your video strategy? A simple audio only social media strategy will be a failure. The promotion must be video. There should be some show business in the look. The lighting should be good, and the backdrops targeted at the audience. The host should have a recent haircut in a style from the past few years, dressed like they would be on TV. Don’t come on looking like Raiders’ owner Mark Davis.
84% use a video component when consuming podcast content.
I could write more on this, but the data supports my conclusions. Great camera equipment is so cheap, and we have the technology to make the audio fantastic.
Big thanks to Laura Ivey with Edison Research for presenting at the summit and for the data. Radio, especially News Talk radio has the opportunity to create the audience for the next generation. We can do it. We are vital, relevant and can innovate in this space.
Peter Thiele is a weekly news/talk radio columnist for Barrett Media, and an experienced news/talk radio programmer. He currently serves as News/Talk Format Captain for Zimmer Communications. Prior to joining Zimmer, Peter held programming positions in New York City, San Francisco, Des Moines, Little Rock, Greenville, Hunstville, and Joplin. Peter has also worked as a host, account executive and producer in Minneapolis, and San Antonio. He can be found on Twitter at @PeterThiele.
