Anstandig on the Future Podcast

Anstandig on the Future: The Future of Podcasting for Local News

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Local TV broadcasters have the potential to fall behind as the globe shifts to its new digital future. After COVID-19 upended our daily habits and propelled our dependency on connected devices, podcasting is rapidly gaining audience — yet there is a noticeable lack of podcasts focused on local daily news.

But that doesn’t mean local TV broadcasters should fear becoming obsolete. The digital world provides more opportunity than ever, and businesses that accommodate a changing consumer landscape often come out on top. As podcasting audiences and revenue grow, it could be a saving grace for local TV broadcasters.

GET READY TO LEARN:

  • How consumer habits are changing in a work-from-home environment.
  • How major television broadcasting networks are adjusting to these changes.
  • What hurdles — and opportunities — exist for local TV broadcasters who want to get into podcasting.
  • How local TV broadcasters can adopt podcasting in a turnkey way.

KEY POINTS

  • Consumer habits are changing rapidly.
  • Podcasting has grown significantly in recent years, while cord-cutting is growing.
  • Broadcasters are well-positioned to fill the daily local news void that exists in podcasting.
  • Tools like Futuri’s POST can help stations use their broadcast content to quickly and easily develop a podcast presence.

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify

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Local TV Makes a Big Move Into Podcasting (and It’s About Time)

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As one of the largest local TV station groups makes a major podcast move, it’s time for every local TV station to realize the power and value of local news podcasts.

By Tim Wolff, VP, TV and Digital Publishing Innovation, Futuri

With news this week that Sinclair, one of America’s largest local broadcast companies, has hired a VP of Audio Programming, it’s clear that local TV leaders are starting to understand the growing power of audio.

There have been efforts before; Tegna has made inroads with original podcasts in sports and true crime, Graham has used local expertise to launch niche podcasts, and Scripps even owned podcast platform Stitcher for several years. At the local station level, individual stations have had start-and-stop efforts ever since the iPod launched (including a podcast I created at a local station in 2005).

Many local TV podcasts have failed over the years for three reasons: lack of staffing time, lack of revenue, and lack of audience. All three are changing now, and the opportunities have never been more significant for local television stations to grow audience and revenue with podcasts.

The biggest shift happened during the pandemic. When people started working from home, they started listening to podcasts. And when they returned to commuting for work, they took the podcasts with them.

The audience is there now, but for all the options that exist in the podcast world, listeners have few options for daily local news.  At the same time, as evidenced in the Futuri/SmithGeiger Future of Audience and Revenue study, we know that local news is what consumers want most. With local television stations having earned extremely high levels of trust with their audience, and with the ability to do several hours of live news each day, local TV stations have an excellent opportunity to expand their audience and drive stronger connections with viewers and listeners by launching their own daily news podcasts.

Finally, there’s a solution to help local TV stations capture these opportunities with no drain on their staff, and automatic revenue opportunities built in. Recently, Futuri launched POST for TV. Futuri has been well-known in the audio world since 2009, and POST for TV is aimed directly at helping TV stations take advantage of audio opportunities and reach podcast listeners. POST’s custom setup allows TV stations to take live newscasts from TV and instantly turn them into podcasts distributed to every major podcast platform–with no additional staff time. 

POST for TV also comes with easy ways to generate revenue. Stations can run ads and sponsorships they sell on their own, use the Futuri Ad Network to run ads in the podcast and share in the revenue, or go with a combination of both. That means that if their sales teams take a while to get their podcast sales efforts firing on all cylinders, there’s still revenue coming in from the Futuri Ad Network.

In other words, it is now possible for TV stations to create local news podcasts with no extra staff, distribution to every major podcast platform, and built-in revenue generation.

More podcast ways to expand your brand

Making your local newscast available as a podcast is a great way for TV and other local newsrooms to expand their brand’s reach — right to the audiences they want.

Stitcher reports that adults 18-34 are the group most likely to listen to podcasts. Podcasthost.org shows that 41% of US podcast listeners have a household income over $75k, which is 10% higher than the US average. Civic Science data shows that 22% of  podcast listeners made a purchase after hearing an ad on a podcast. Sound like an audience you want your brand to reach?

More incentive for local news brands: podcast listeners are 10% more likely to follow the news closely (AudienceScan data) but might not be traditional consumers of your media products. Reaching them in a podcast may bring them to your television newscast.

Opportunities with original podcasts

Beyond podcasting daily local newscasts, there are two areas where the expertise and relationships local TV stations have translate well into podcasts.

First, as we’ve seen with Tegna, sports are a big winner for any market with pro or big-time college teams. Any sales leader in those markets can tell you that advertisers are often looking for ways to sponsor coverage of those teams, and sports fans will readily listen to podcasts about their teams. 

Second, local media often overlook the key interest areas that would expand beyond geography. Say your market is home to a major Navy base, and you have well-informed reporters on the base, which is one of your biggest employers. Use their expertise to launch a Navy-focused podcast, and suddenly you have the potential of a worldwide audience. Or maybe you have medical experts or auto manufacturing or insurance companies as vast parts of your market. Starting podcasts around those areas can tap into the national or global interest and build a large audience that resonates with advertisers, all while growing audience interest in your station.

The time to embrace podcasting is now

For media brands, audience and revenue growth opportunities don’t come along every day. The explosive growth of audio consumption over the past several years represents a major opportunity for TV brands, and those who don’t work to capture those opportunities will be left behind. Getting in the game by effortlessly podcasting your local newscast gets your audience accustomed to audio from your brand; following that up with original podcasts that play on your brand’s expertise is a powerful one-two punch. 

While it’s still relatively early for TV and podcasting, things are moving quickly, as evidenced by Sinclair’s new hire. Grab onto the opportunity to have first-mover advantage in your market — and by all means, don’t be last.

How do you get started? Click here to contact the podcast experts at Futuri.

 

Tim Wolff is Vice President of TV and Digital Publishing Innovation at Futuri. He has 20+ years of experience as a digital and broadcasting leader who’s led top-performing teams across the country at companies including Gannet, Belo, and Cox Media Group Ohio, which includes three daily newspapers, three radio stations, WHIO-TV, and more. Wolff, who holds a Master’s in Journalism from the University of Missouri, also makes a mean green chile stew.

 

 

 

Anstandig on the Future Podcast

Anstandig on the Future: The Future of Paywalls

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Paywalled journalism and content have been around since newspapers were first printed. In the digital age, those news outlets are not only competing with each other, but with individual content creators and information that circulates on free platforms like social media. Today, as consumers cut costs on subscriptions, paywalls may be more of a challenge than ever.

So how do media companies accommodate those changes?

In this episode, Daniel Anstandig discusses several approaches to paywalling and subscription models. Some you’ve heard of, like the metered paywall or traditional subscriptions, but some look at how emerging services and technologies can be used to create new and innovative experiences for readers.

The future of paywalls is bright! They just might look a little different in the coming years.

GET READY TO LEARN:

  • What is the state of the subscription industry today?
  • Why journalists are flocking to Substack.
  • What media companies can learn from streaming services.
  • Alternatives to the traditional paywall.
  • Why NFT memberships can actually save you money.

KEY POINTS

  • Consumers are cutting costs and subscriptions are first.
  • The traditional paywall model does not grant access to information to those that need it most.
  • New paywall alternatives are emerging in services like Twitter Blue.
  • Web3 can help media companies find new revenue streams.

Listen on Apple Podcasts | Listen on Spotify

O Radio, Radio! Wherefore Art Thou Radio?

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At Futuri Media, we recently did a lot of research into understanding today’s modern audience and what the findings mean for revenue at media brands like yours.

 

With recent happenings in the world related to public health that have affected us all dramatically and explosive growth in the amount of media consumption, as well as the diversification of types of media consumption, we needed to get the temperature and take the pulse of the media audiences we serve content to.

 

Lucky for you, we have two recent studies that can help: The Future of Audience and Revenue study we conducted with the SmithGeiger Group, and an ODBA study with Nielsen. They’re packed with loads of information about what can be done to keep up with your listeners and viewers.

 

Here are some interesting findings that come from these two great studies.

 

What’s In a Name?

When we asked focus groups of over 100 media consumers what television was, we got back a bunch of different answers.

 

The traditional sit down in front of the tube to watch a show or sports game is dead.

 

Now, television means something that could include watching a video post on social media or catching up with one’s favorite vlogger on YouTube.

 

It’s not just the box in the living room any more.

 

When asked about radio, people weren’t just talking about the dial they turn in their car to make the music play.

 

In fact, now when people think of radio they think of the search bar to find the latest great hits that they enjoy bopping to.

 

With a changing understanding of what television and radio are now, the typical methods of engaging with your audience are changing drastically as well.

 

Would a rose by any other name smell just as sweet?

 

The names “radio” and “television” are definitely going to be sticking around as we have heard loudly in our focus groups.

 

However, what they mean to the modern audience has changed drastically.

 

Even though the sound of the names might not be changing, the pictures in our heads of what the names mean definitely is.

 

Furthermore, Futuri is changing the name of the game for success at your radio station or television channel.

 

With our full suite of TopicPulse and POST products, your brand will be an industry leader in media while the rest of the competition is left trying to figure out how to understand their audience members.

 

Deny thy father and refuse thy name

As media brands, we shouldn’t correct our customers into thinking that radio and television are narrow concepts.

 

Instead of making them fit their understanding of these mediums into stuffy boxes, let’s go where they’re going when they say they’re watching television or listening to radio.

 

Unlike in Shakespeare’s play, when Juliet wants Romeo to disregard his family’s name, we don’t have to tell our listeners and viewers to disregard the names of radio and television.

 

Instead, we can embrace the names of television and radio while better understanding what today’s consumers mean by them.

 

For more information on how you can better understand your audience and potentially boost return on investment at your company by partnering with Futuri, check out our recent Future of Audience and Revenue with SmithGieger Group and our ODBA study with Nielsen.

Image announcing major update to Futuri's POST podcasting system, published US patent, and new Nielsen study

Futuri Podcasting System POST Launches Major Update and Announces Published US Patent, as New Nielsen Data Shows Unique Impact of POST Technology on Time Spent with Audio

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Futuri Podcasting System POST Launches Major Update and Announces Published US Patent, as New Nielsen Data Shows Unique Impact of POST Technology on Time Spent with Audio

Cleveland, Ohio, November 9, 2021 — Futuri, the leading provider of AI-driven audience engagement and sales intelligence solutions for broadcasters, today announced a major update to its patented and patent-pending POST podcasting system. POST is relied on by thousands of top-performing audio creators to quickly and efficiently capture, edit, package, and distribute PPM-encoded broadcast content, as well as original podcasts, on multiple audio and video platforms. 

The POST update includes:

  • A new in-app audio editor. This powerful, yet simple-to-use, editor is designed to save production time, speed up distribution of timely content, and enable audio brands to quickly make simple edits to their on-demand broadcast content to keep people listening longer.
  • Customizable widgets: A new suite of customizable widgets makes it easy to apply station brand standards to their embedded audio. 
  • Improved ad insertion capabilities: POST’s ad marker and mid-roll capabilities have gotten an upgrade, making it easier for stations to monetize their on-demand broadcast and original podcast audio.
  • Much more, including streamlined publishing to third-party destinations; enhanced chapter markers and analytics; and new features that make it easier to switch to POST from another podcast provider (paired with Futuri’s white-glove US-based support).

The update comes as Futuri today released a new white paper, Growing Audience with On-Demand Broadcast Audio. It includes new data from a nationwide study on On-Demand Broadcast Audio (ODBA), also known as time-shifted audio, across all PPM markets, conducted by Nielsen, which reviewed millions of occasions of minute-level data. The white paper examines the current state of On-Demand Broadcast Audio and reveals POST’s unique ability to maximize ROI on broadcast content by quickly, efficiently editing and parsing content, packaging with metadata, and publishing this audio. Key findings include:

  • Challenging the perception that podcasts and on-demand content are only consumed “on the go,” Nielsen found that 63% of all ODBA listening is at-home (37% OOH). Three of the top five formats are music formats, with CHR and AC over-indexing on the at-home number — 77% and 79%, respectively.
  • Stations using POST are over 5x more likely than non-POST stations to have on-demand PPM broadcast audio minutes captured by Nielsen, showcasing the unique results delivered by POST’s patented system. 
  • Average minutes per on-demand broadcast audio listening session for stations using POST is nearly 30% higher than stations not using POST.
  • Demographics: The breakdown of on-demand broadcast audio published through POST is 50.2% Female vs. 49.8% Male, compared to 39% Female / 61% Male for content published by non-POST stations. 

The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) has recently issued a U.S. Patent for POST. The patent adds to Futuri’s diverse portfolio of technology patents, protecting a broad range of methods released to POST, which automatically captures, parses, and publishes on-demand audio and video content to a multitude of social channels and audio, video, and podcast platforms. More specifically, this patent is one of several U.S. and foreign patents and pending patent applications added to our other Intellectual Property which is held by Futuri and that grants Futuri and its licensees, exclusive rights to this unique audio technology. Futuri’s CEO, Daniel Anstandig, and Director, Research & Development, Craig Bowman, are named as inventors on the patent.

“Futuri has invested a significant amount in R&D related to podcasting, on-demand audio, and broadcast automation workflows and integration,” said Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig. “The issuance of this patent, combined with research from Nielsen that validates the unique results of POST, represents a milestone for Futuri and our many innovative broadcast partners, who have used this and our other technologies to drive ratings and revenue since Futuri’s launch in 2009. We’re dedicated to creating easy-to-use, high ROI platforms that deliver innovative and proprietary high value for our partners, and we are proud to extend our proprietary position to them.” 

The Growing Audience with On-Demand Broadcast Audio white paper is available for download at FuturiMedia.com/Podcast21, where people can also register for one of two review webinars, hosted by Futuri’s Jim Tarantine and Zena Burns, on Thursday, November 11. 

 

About Futuri 

Futuri is the leading provider of cloud-based audience engagement and sales intelligence software for the enterprise. Brands rely on Futuri solutions to make their content more relevant, accessible, engaging, and results-driven. Founded in 2009,  Futuri holds 12 published or pending patents in 151 countries. Named to the Inc. 5000 List of America’s fastest-growing private companies for eight consecutive years, Futuri is the only audience engagement platform that includes solutions for sales, marketing, and content teams. 

Futuri’s POST Announces POST AudioShield™, a Patent-Pending Feature to Protect Clients from Audio Copyright Fines

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Futuri’s POST Announces POST AudioShield™, a Patent-Pending Feature to Protect Clients from Audio Copyright Fines

Cleveland, March 2, 2021 — Futuri’s POST, the revolutionary podcasting technology used by more than 1,500 broadcast brands worldwide, today announced the launch of POST AudioShield™, a patent-pending feature that enables its clients to prevent copyrighted music from inadvertently making it into podcasts and/or social video that’s based on broadcast audio. By enabling the POST AudioShield™ feature, either globally or for a specific set of brands, POST clients can be sure that content published through POST is free of content for which they don’t have a license, like talking over the intro of a popular song.

An important component of the POST AudioShield™ feature: Content published through POST using the POST AudioShield™ feature still maintains POST’s PPM encoding for broadcast radio stations. Of the many reasons why this is important, a recent case study with a major morning in a Top 5 market using POST showed that when the show started using POST to consistently publish daily highlights, they saw meaningful ratings results. Looking at P18-49, the show experienced a +29% AQH Share, +47% AQH Persons, and +200% AQH Rating. There’s more on that here. 

“ROI drives everything we do at Futuri, and broadcasters have a big opportunity to improve their content ROI by making the most of the great content they develop for on-air use. That said, if you’re unintentionally sloppy with copyrights, that changes the calculus,” said Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig. “We developed the patent-pending AudioShield™ feature for POST to give our partners in management piece of mind against those inadvertent copyright violations that can eat up hard-fought revenue with big fines.”

For more on how you can protect your content with POST AudioShield™, reach out to us today!

Podcasting Was Here

Podcasts were big, then people forgot about them, now they’re huge. What happened?

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Here’s what changed that made podcasts skyrocket more than a decade after they first started — and why your news brand can’t miss out on this audience.

By Tim Wolff, Vice President of TV and Digital Publishing Innovation, Futuri

In 2005, I created one of the first video podcasts (vodcasts) in our market. We used it for high school sports highlights, and I was pleased we grew to about 50 users. Still, it took about a day to process the video, and the effort wasn’t really worth it at the time. Like most media outlets, we put our focus elsewhere.

By 2006, we had generally done that with podcasts in general. They had taken off as “the next big thing” after the iPod was launched (thank goodness they aren’t called Zunecasts!), but after a few years podcasts seem to fade from everywhere other than NPR.  The market was too small and the work too involved for most media outlets to invest in it.

Several years later, Serial became a podcast hit, and suddenly podcasts were the next big thing again. Everyone from newspapers to bloggers scrambled to create podcasts, while NPR had been there the whole time.

What changed?

As in many industries, the key changes were about distribution, production costs, and a singular hit to capture people’s attention.

By 2014 the biggest barrier to consumer podcast listening had changed. Users no longer needed an iPod or to go through iTunes (these days, Apple Podcasts); the podcasting app had become native to every iPhone. This was a key distribution change, making it easier and automatic for millions of people to quickly get into listening to podcasts. Serial was the first big benefactor of this, shattering previous records for podcast downloads.

Now, with smart speakers and phone connections in cars, podcasts are readily and easily available everywhere.

Meanwhile, processing speeds have become exponentially faster. What took hours to process a decade ago can now be processed in seconds. With equipment becoming cheaper and online tutorials abundant, anyone can make a podcast quickly and easily now.

But what about money?

Most of the 1,700,000 podcasts out there don’t make any money. So why should local news brands get involved?

The main reasons revolve around the key goals for any media outlet: Audience reach, consumer loyalty, brand expansion, and revenue generation.

Podcasts today reach a demo that is highly sought after for media companies and advertisers. Stitcher reports that the most popular group who uses podcasts are adults 18-34. Podcasthost.org shows that 41% of US podcast listeners have a household income over $75k, which is 10% higher than the US average. Civic Science data shows that 1 in 3 podcast listeners made a purchase after hearing an ad on a podcast. Sound like an audience you want your brand to reach?

As sources of news expand from traditional media to social, OTT, podcast,s and everything else, legacy brands need a way to stay relevant everywhere. By reaching your target consumers in as many distribution channels as possible, you build loyalty to your brand and personalities.

You also reach new people.  Podcast listeners are 10% more likely to follow news closely (AudienceScan data), but might not be traditional consumers of your media products. Getting them content in a podcast may remind them of the value your media brand brings, whether that’s through television, radio, newspaper, magazines, or a digital outlet.

And that brings the big challenge: Can you monetize podcasts directly?

It’s about your goals and the audience you want

Most of the time, we think about podcasts with huge audiences in order to generate any revenue. To have a huge audience, you probably need a podcast with a national or worldwide scope, likely focused on a key area of interest (football, for example, or true crime).  This seems like a problem for local media outlets, because the audience they are targeting is one of local consumers, limited by the geographic reach of the brand.  Unfortunately, too many local media decision-makers get to this point in their consideration, and then stop. They don’t see the monetization model that makes sense for them, so they choose not to do podcasts. They end up missing out on two key opportunities.

First, local interest sponsorships are a big opportunity. Any sales person in a market with a major sports team can tell you that there are advertisers who have key interest in reaching those fans. And every television executive can tell you that weather coverage is a key driver of viewing. Advertisers are actively looking to sponsor great weather brands. Combine these key areas of your media company’s strength with advertiser needs, and podcasts make a lot of sense. 

Second, local media often overlook the key interest areas that would expand far beyond geography. Say your market is home to a major Navy base, and you have reporters who are well informed on the base, as one of your biggest employers. Use their expertise to launch a Navy-focused podcast, and suddenly you have the potential of a worldwide audience. Maybe instead of military interest, you have a sports team with a worldwide following. Or maybe you have Civil War experts or auto manufacturing or shipping companies as huge parts of your market. Starting podcasts around those areas can tap in to the national or global interest, and build a large audience that resonates with advertisers, and provides outreach for you to grow subscribers to your own products.

Where to start?

Once you see the value podcasts can bring to your newsroom, you need to know how to grow the reach of your podcasts. Using social media, youtube (the second largest search engine) and your own websites are all key. So is having a partner that can distribute to every platform at once. POST by Futuri is perfect for that; you can post to multiple platforms at once, and they can instantly turn your audio podcast into video, for maximum reach. The Futuri team even has tools to help you monetize your podcasts.

The US is expected to have 100 million podcast listeners this year. If your newsroom is truly committed to reaching and serving your community, it’s time to get into podcasts. You can’t afford to miss out on this audience.

Tim Wolff is Vice President of TV and Digital Publishing Innovation at Futuri. He has 20+ years of experience as a digital and broadcasting leader who’s led top-performing teams across the country at companies including Gannet, Belo, and Cox Media Group Ohio, which includes three daily newspapers, three radio stations, WHIO-TV, and more. Wolff, who holds a Master’s in Journalism from the University of Missouri, also makes a mean green chile stew.

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© 2022 Futuri Media

Futuri is the leading provider of cloud-based audience engagement software for the enterprise. Brands rely on Futuri to make their content more relevant, accessible, engaging, and results-driven. Founded in 2009, Futuri holds 12 published or pending patents in 151 countries. Named to the Inc. 5000 List of America’s Fastest-Growing Private Companies for seven consecutive years, Futuri is the only audience engagement platform that includes solutions for sales, marketing, and content teams.