Podcast Saturation - Is This Medium Of Entertainment Running Out Of Momentum?

Opening Thoughts

Podcasts have experienced a golden age over the last decade, particularly since the early 2020s. Their success boiled down to many overlapping factors, and although they only reached a peak recently, the concept of podcasting has been around since the early part of the 21st century.

While I don’t want to be too reductive, there really isn’t that much difference between podcasts and the classic format of radio shows. There isn’t much difference between Vine and TikTok; it's just that one has become the world’s biggest social media app, and the other one ceases to exist. These marginal differences can be all it takes for one company to succeed and another to fade into the echoes of history.

Adapting To A Changing Market

For all of the marvels of the internet, it is also capitalism in one of its most authentic forms; it opens up the international market for those wanting to reach the pinnacle of their respective fields.

This has happened on all levels of entertainment, whether it’s social media, podcasting, or casino gaming. Thanks to the accessibility and cost-effectiveness of moving their operations online, these industries have experienced highly successful boom periods.

In the case of casino gaming, they haven’t just successfully moved online and implemented new fintech changes to stay ahead of the current market momentum; they have used cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin and implemented these payments into classic casino games, such as slots. Many Bitcoin slots games have the same mechanics, setup, and gaming features. Still, by allowing users to withdraw and deposit Bitcoin via their crypto wallet, they have added an enhanced level of convenience and cost-efficiency.

While this might sound like a convoluted point, the podcasting industry needs to take note. It may have gone through a significant growth spurt, but it needs to keep itself relevant, and the only way to do that is to embrace and fuse modern innovations into podcasting ideas.

An Embarrassment Of Riches

The DIY nature of podcasting has been both a blessing and a curse. It meant that entertainers could set up their own podcasts and ideas and release them into the great ether of the internet at little to no cost. Before the internet, such an idea or show would only be possible through the confines and design of TV and radio.

For instance, Dick Cavett is considered one of the great talk show hosts in American history. If he were around today, it’s likely the route he would go for would be a podcast rather than conventional TV. For podcasters, the lack of a framework or fact-checking and the opportunity to have your own sponsors and ads mean that they have the sort of freedom that chat show hosts like Dave Letterman and Dick Cavett did not have.

On the face of it, this might be great for those who want to portray a specific brand or take on the angle of “no-nonsense” or “telling it like it is,” - but the truth is that this approach can only go so far until people begin to question ulterior motives or the quality of the podcast.

Obviously, there are a host of podcast genres like sports or comedy that don’t have to worry so intently about these elements. Still, when podcasts are now places where world leaders feature and do interviews, there has been an added onus on ensuring the broadcasting quality matches the fact-checking and editorial production quality that was once the gold standard of legacy media.

While podcasts might have dodged the questions in their early stages due to the scale of their modern-day influence, this is one angle they must fix to keep their current momentum.

Conclusion

Podcasts aren’t running out of too much momentum just yet. The monumental success of the likes of the Joe Rogan podcast highlights just how gigantic the audience is and remains to be.

The issue isn’t really for podcasts that have become so big that they have developed their audience over the last decade, as Rogan has. It’s those looking to develop a brand in a market with millions of podcasts, ranging from those inactive ones with one episode to those who churn out four or five episodes a week to an audience of less than a dozen people.

I wouldn’t say the industry is going to run out of momentum. Still, saturation means that new podcasts will find it exceptionally difficult to gain validity when there are simply too many for listeners to choose from.

Ultimately, this will result in a slowdown of the number of new podcasts, and while the elite ones might bottleneck at the top and solidify their grip, new ideas and new podcasters may be the ones who suffer the most. However, given that it’s relatively cheap to start one, it could also mean that the industry might maintain enough momentum to continue eating into the market share of traditional legacy media alternatives such as radio and TV. Only time will tell.

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