Podium Podcast and the freedom of podcasting: Beyond the limits of radio programming and production constraints

Abstract

The evolution of the Internet and the impact of digitalization have led the radio industry to try new production, distribution and commercialization strategies. In Spain, radio on the Internet began in the mid-1990s, and years later, in 2005, broadcasters incorporated podcasting. For more than a decade, they have used podcasts as a distribution tool, but in recent years, they have started to offer new content through podcasting. In June 2016, PRISA, one of the main Spanish media groups, took a step further with the launch of Podium Podcast. It is a new brand and platform, with a specific catalogue of native podcasts created and delivered taking podcast listeners into account. Podium Podcast is part of PRISA’s digital strategy, but it also shows a new approach to podcasting by the radio industry. Podcasters in Podium Podcast feel free of radio programming conventions and have the opportunity to experiment with content that does not fit into current radio stations’ schedules. Podium Podcast expands the Spanish podcasting sphere and contributes to the popularization of podcasts. However, we wonder to what extent it is a threat to independent podcasters and if it might contribute to the colonization of the field by the mainstream.

Media Studies, Audiovisual Media Communications, and Generations: The Case of Budding Journalists in Radio Courses in Greece

“…), as educational resources that provide significant aid in learning (Tomyuk et al 2019)-and not because they are fashionable or forced due to the current circumstances (e.g., due the effects of a pandemic), such as, for example, podcasts and vodcasts, which have been in the spotlight for more than a decade (see Ratchma and Zhang 2006;Sprague and Pixley 2008;Aguilar et al 2011) and have gained popularity in the educational environment in the last year (i.e., in 2020) due to the COVID-19 pandemic (see, for example, Geha and Dhaliwal 2020). At this point, we should mention that a podcast is (a) distributed mainly from and through the Internet as a distribution tool (see Bonet and Sellas 2019;Sellas and Solà 2019;Sellas 2018) and (b) may be found in (i) different genres and/or categories and (ii) many forms (see Drew 2017b), as plain sound/audio media and/or enhanced with multimedia content (such as video) and thereby converted into a vodcast (see also Rae and McCarthy 2017;Schmittauer 2017;Dimoulas et al 2019;McNamara and Drew 2019). Academically, it is primarily employed to disseminate course content (see Ballinas-Gonzales et al 2020;Fernandez et al 2015;Temperman and Lièvre 2009) and/or as learner-created content (Struck et al 2011), due to its flexibility and versatility in use (e.g., the development of meta-skills, support for content learning, etc.)…”

“…The new presentation as audiovisual content was adapted to the new trends in radio as interactive radio-for example, (i) podcasts as a distribution tool (see Bonet and Sellas 2019;Sellas and Solà 2019;Sellas 2018) and (ii) use of social networks, social media, and platforms (such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram), audiovisual platforms (such as YouTube and Vimeo), and sound platforms (such as Mixcloud and SoundCloud) as promotional tools and/or creative tools for new audiovisual content for a radio show and/or radio music show (see Sellas 2013)-and ethical and copyright issues in music (see Costa 2016, Costa 2017. Jt was also enriched with additional multimodal content and material, such as (a) sound/audio media spots from local radio stations in Thessaloniki ( Greece Appendix E).…”

Understanding podcast users: Consumption motives and behaviors

“…Researchers have addressed podcasting in various contexts, such as education (Şendağ et al, 2018), health (Turner-McGrievy et al, 2013), journalism (Park, 2017), and media criticism (Von Krogh and Svensson, 2017). Some have examined specifically the media format itself, discussing its evolution, production, relationship with radio, and impact on the radio industry (Berry, 2016; McHugh, 2016; Morris and Patterson, 2015; Sellas and Solà, 2019).…”

Identifying future trends by podcast mining: an explorative approach for Web-based horizon scanning

“…The technical fundament of podcasts are Really Simple Syndication Web feeds, subscriptions over a digital platform (e.g. Spotify and Apple Podcast) or downloads of MP3 files (Sellas and Solà , 2019). Thus, podcasts provide the capacity for free, independent and worldwide communication.…”

“…This observation is in line with Bonini's (2015) observation of transition from a do-it-yourself, amateur niche medium to a commercial mass medium. Notwithstanding, Sellas and Solà (2019) emphasize the "minority voices, alternative podcast networks and hundreds of independent podcasts" (p. 77), which should not be neglected in future academic discourse. As a consequence, podcast listeners have now access to shows with a broad variation in the mentioned dimensions.…”