The Spoken Word Audio Report 2020, produced by Edison Research and NPR, is out. One broad and important finding: 75% of the U.S. population (18+) listens to spoken word audio monthly. Daily, it is 43%. AM/FM is paying the price for increased listening to other platforms of spoken word audio; the trend is clear from 2014 to 2020. Click through for much more, and graphics, and a link to the download. Continue Reading
Announced at today’s IAB Podcast Upfront (Day 1), NPR is changing Consider This into a localized news podcast serving 10 regions. will hear a version of Consider This with reporting on their community from their community, alongside a national view from NPR. NPR notes that this program is unique to podcasting, and made possible by public radio’s shared journalism and digital networks. Delivering the right localized show to each listener is accomplished by AdsWizz and Nielsen. Continue Reading
If Q2 was the Covid Quarter, NPR was infected. The U.S. public radio network lost about a quarter of its audience during that period. The main influence? Loss of morning and evening car commuting. But this trend is balanced by shifts to in-home device listening, increasing reach overall. Podcast revenue will surpass broadcast ad revenue for the first time. Click through for details. Continue Reading
The Hidden Brain podcast, hosted by Shankar Vedantam, has moved its ad representation exclusively to Midroll Media, the ad sales division of Stitcher. (Stitcher has recently been acquired by SiriusXM, from E.W. Scripps, in a deal which will close by Q3). Alongside this deal, Hidden Brain will be produced independently by Hidden Brain Media, starting October 1. The podcast will continue to be distributed by NPR. It’s a chart success — click through to see its placements.
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Podtrac released its monthly Top Podcasts ranking for June, among Podtrac-measured shows. NPR appears most often, as owner of nine shows, two more than in the May ranker. Three new shows entered the list in June. Continue Reading
Podtrac released its monthly Top Podcasts ranking for May. NPR appears most often, as owner of seven shows. iHeartRadio has three of the top 20. The #4 spot was claimed by Call Her Daddy, returning after a 5-week break over a controversy that was covered by The New York Times, moved up 11 spots in the ranker. Continue Reading
Podtrac released its monthly ranking of top 20 podcasts for April. (See below.) Stability governs the upper portion, as the top six shows held their places from the previous month. New to the list in April: The Ron Burgundy Podcast, produced by iHeartRadio, taking the #16 spot. NPR is the most-represented publisher in this list. Continue Reading
Tom Webster (SVP, Edison Research) and Joel Sucherman (VP, New Platform Partnerships, NPR) held forth in a Zoom webinar to present the Smart Audio Report 2020, a collaboration of the two companies. The report consisted of a wealth of metrics, including specialty survey questions relevant to Covid-19, and “qualitative research” — videos of users talking about how they use smart assistants. Click for details. Continue Reading
NPR has hired Michael Smith as its new chief marketing officer. He will step into the post beginning April 6. Most recently he was senior vice president and general manager of digital channels for Scripps Networks. “It’s essential to NPR’s future that its content and audience reflect America’s full diversity,” Smith said. Continue Reading
NPR launched a new podcast centered on creating audio in the classroom. The Student Podcast Challenge show is made by the team that runs the NPR contest of the same name. Continue Reading
The winter 2019 edition of the Smart Audio Report from NPR and Edison Research has been released on the CES stage, with the latest insights on how listeners are using voice tech and smart speakers. In the new report, 24% of U.S. adults own a smart speaker for an audience of about 60 million people. Continue Reading
Edison Research and NPR have released the results of a new survey into consumption of spoken word audio content. It includes five years of previously unreleased data about audio, including podcasts, news, sports, talk radio, and audiobooks. The Spoken Word Audio Report found that 73% of the U.S. population listened to spoken word audio in the past month. Continue Reading