Schrodinger’s Podcast Is Dead, Long Live the Premium Pod (Popular Is Paramount Podcast)

Writing this piece from the Digiday Publisher Summit where I’m doing a panel with the mildly provocative title “Podcast Bubble Burst?” for which, it is worth noting, was originally titled “Podcast Bubble Burst” before we agreed that the addition of a question mark felt like a valid request.? In fairness to the moderator ( Sara Guaglione - phenomenal reporter and please check her work out), it has certainly been a climactic few months for the podcast industry as a whole.? The year ended, and then began, with a number of think pieces from across the media diaspora on what, exactly, the fate of podcasting would be in 2023.

I think this is the third time that I have written, then erased, some form of introduction that covered this topic.? I debated whether I wanted to jump into the fray, what opinion I might take, and whether it was really worth going down the rabbit hole – which already has so many rabbits burrowing away into this topic.? However, I figured after speaking about it publicly yesterday on the panel, I’m now public on my thoughts so why not jump in.

So first, we’ll start with the headline: Schrodinger’s Podcast is dead.??

For newer readers, this statement is not about the podcast industry, but rather the specific strategy that Paramount Global pods took during the massive growth surge that occurred over the past few years.? We were experiencing an unprecedented content boom. ? Deals were being signed left and right, stocks moved accordingly, and a bidding war for a big-name podcast (both launched or in development) was common amongst the larger players.

It was a good time to be talent and a great time to be a publisher with both talent and big-name franchises.

So…yeah, that was fun.

But like many good things, that too must end.

However!? However, however, however - to misquote the great Mark Twain (which I googled to make sure I was quoting correctly and then learned that the quote is in fact incorrectly attributed)? - the rumors of the death of our collective medium remain greatly exaggerated.

Undoubtedly we, and most of the world, and certainly the US, are experiencing a challenging macroeconomic climate.? 2023 has been, and will continue to be, a hard year.? And with that has come what feels like significant corrections to the market.? But the fundamentals of the medium remain strong.??

Podcasts continue to grow as do podcast listeners.? As we noted a couple weeks ago, the latest Edison report found that 64% of people P12+ have ever listened to a podcast (up from 62% last year) with 42% listening monthly, and weekly listeners consuming over 9 podcasts a week.? This is not a dying medium.? We are a strong and growing business, just one that is now more governed by math versus an insanely fun, but not quite sustainable, optimism that every new podcast will be a hit driving 8 figure revenue.

And so, we bid farewell to Schrodinger’s Podcast.? But, rising like a phoenix from the mildly irradiated and poisoned ashes (metaphoric ashes, metaphoric cat, no actual cats were harmed while writing this article) comes a concept that isn’t really that new or that groundbreaking, but it is impactful.? The premium pod.? Or the differentiated pod.? Or the “pod that only we at Paramount Global Can do”.? We are still working on the branding front here, and Josh Line , I’ll be reaching out shortly for your take.

But independent of the wording or lack of an alliterative title (Popular is Paramount Podcast?) is one very important idea. ? The marketplace remains crowded, discovery remains an issue and podcasting has not gotten any easier.? However, Paramount Global has an incredibly strong portfolio of franchises and IP and podcasting has and continues to be an incredibly powerful way to extend the reach of those franchises.

As we often say - fans don’t care about the org charts or verticals in our companies (unless you’re a Decoder pod fan in which case you might actually nerd out on org charts and I welcome future 1:1 conversations to do so) .? Linear, digital, social, gaming (go TMNT, Doug Rosen and Nickelodeon !) - it’s all about the brand, the connection.??

As for how that translates into actual content, this means you will see a renewed focus from us on podcasts that only we can do, with talent and insight that only we can provide.? This will mean more pods with our a-list talent, EPs and directors to contextualize and bring forward stories that are highly differentiated, offering a unique and one-of-a-kind POV.

And it’s working.

Year over Year Paramount Global Podcasting is up 183% in revenue from a material base.? And similarly, downloads are up 42% YoY.? And this is just the beginning.? Working with the various partners at all the brands it just feels…giddy.? There is a lot to do here and people are, genuinely, excited.? We are incredibly lucky to have access to the people and content that is created across the portfolio on a daily basis.? We are leaning heavily into the strength of our franchises and we truly feel that we are just beginning to see what we can truly accomplish.

We are extremely excited for what lies ahead and thanks (and congratulations!) to everyone involved.

Podcast Recommendation Of The Week

In keeping with the spirit of a very Paramount Global-focused podcast, this week calling out our own Tom Ryan on one of my favorite entertainment pods - The Ankler . ? Their latest episode can be found HERE and features Tom talking about the past, present and future of Pluto TV .

Next week - back to the news!