Why Radio Needs to Embrace Podcasting

Podcasts Surpass Radio in Spoken-Word Listening. That was the headline of a Radio Inkstory that shared Edison Research Share of Ear data and caught the attention of many, as it signaled the first time that we’d seen any audio-driven platform pass radio.

The Edison study included listeners 13+ through Q4 2025.

Podcasts make up 40% of daily spoken-word audio. Radio (over-the-air and streaming) comes in at 39%. While spoken word podcasting barely edges out what is spoken word radio, it spotlights a significant drop in radio listening during the last ten years. Edison reported that in 2015, AM/FM radio made up 75% of spoken word listening. Podcasts then had only 10% of the spoken word audience.

This trend is as much about the demise of radio as a venue for spoken word content as it is for podcasts’ growth in the format. It’s also about the necessity for radio stations to be more than a pure-play one-platform medium.

For many broadcasters, Podcasting is somewhat like Thanksgiving dinner at the kids’ table. It’s not very important, and it’s not given the tools and support that the medium deserves. It’s not what “we in radio” do, and it’s not where we make the majority of our money, so it doesn’t get the focus and investment that it warrants. That lack of priority comes through in what’s presented. When podcasting matters, the content is better. The production is better. The promotion and marketing of the podcast is evident. The opportunity for success is particularly promising as podcasting is in a growth cycle. Embracing podcasting should be purposeful.

It is not my intention to paint the relationship between broadcasters and podcasters with a broad brush. There are those broadcasters who realize the benefit of podcasting and using their radio content and/or content creators & talent across multiple platforms. They also understand that there are those things that radio does well or has done well that can be a foundation of broadcast podcasting. Weekend block programming lends itself to podcasts. Branded podcasts are a fresh tactical way to satisfy an advertiser’s needs as well as create a new revenue category.

There are those in radio who still demean podcasting. It’s true that there are many hobbyists who have a podcast, but it’s also beneficial for radio to be everywhere and be able to be heard everywhere. The same approach is important for your talent. A repurposed radio show, while not my favorite type of podcast, enables your program to be On-Demand. What I favor more so is a unique podcast that is not the exact same thing aired on a radio show because it expands the brand of the talent and the station. Podcasting enables talent to expand their content, spend more time on a topic, and develop greater character. Adding video to a podcast magnifies these benefits.

It shouldn’t be a choice. Radio is a mass medium. Podcasting is targeted media. We need both forms of media. That’s where radio comes into play. If a radio listener who is also a podcast listener is going to devote some of their listening and/or viewing time to a podcast… Why shouldn’t it be content that you own and monetize?

Podcasts matter:

• The audience for spoken word podcast content has surpassed spoken word radio.

• Podcasts extend a brand or station’s reach and provide an additional revenue stream.

• Podcasts are digestible in chunks, and they enable radio to be on demand.

• Podcasts that have the option of audio only or include video are more attractive.

• Podcasts create a one-on-one listening experience while radio is one-to-many.

• Podcasts fit into the overly busy world in which many in our audiences exist.

Radio may be the original audio creator, but it can no longer count on owning the audio platform. Podcasting is among the most portable audio platforms of the day. They go together and are seen by the consumer/listener as interchangeable.

Based on what Edison Research has shown us about spoken word programming, not only is podcasting more than worthy of sitting at the adult’s table, it’s on the brink of pushing radio to the kids’ table.