Dive Brief:
- At the Podcast Movement 2015 conference, the keynote presentations showed a theme of not getting into podcasting for the money. That said, to monetize a podcast, native advertising through sponsored content pops up as the most common route.
- Monetizing podcasts has caused some conflict between podcasters with public radio backgrounds versus those with commercial radio experience.
- Broadcast companies have shown interest in podcasting, and Hubbard Broadcasting hopped on board by purchasing a 30% slice of the PodcastOne network.
Dive Insight:
Not all podcasts are created with the intent of making money, but those that are monetized are usually done so with native ads where the podcaster names a sponsor sometime in the podcast. This type of native advertising has incited tension between podcasters with either public radio or commercial radio backgrounds with the former concerned that shout-outs to sponsors might sound more like endorsements than identifying podcast sponsors. The fear is that podcasts monetized with native ads might hurt the level of trust in those listeners. In response, podcasters making money with sponsored ads are attempting to remain transparent about what is sponsored and what is editorial content.
Beyond individual podcasts making money through native ads, the entire space has been of interest for broadcasters, exemplified by the latest deal with Hubbard Broadcasting buying 30% of the PodcastOne network with 200 shows delivering 400 million ad impression per month. One reason broadcasters are finding podcasts attractive is radio listenership is either flat or down, and now includes options that don’t require listeners to tune into a broadcast radio station.
