Get Serious Clout with Sports Betting and eSports Audiences

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We are always looking for new ways to help you to engage with your audiences through our POST and TopicPulse lines of products, so when our team heard about the recent rise of sports betting and eSports, we knew it was a huge opportunity and we could help new customers!

 

That’s what led to TopicPulse SportsEdge, which is a modified version of TopicPulse intended to help companies in fantasy sports, sports betting, esports, and VR industries. 

 

As we prepare to launch SportsEdge, today we’ll unpack some findings from one of our recent studies within these industries. These results will certainly catch your attention!

 

The Findings and Ways They Can Help YOU!

Demographics of Sports Bettors

 

The recent Futuri + Geiger study shone a light on what kind of people are ready for sports betting to make its way into the mainstream. 7 out of 10 sports bettors are men. Most are employed full-time and earn more than $75,000 each year. About half of all sports bettors are in their mid 20’s to mid 40’s.

 

So what? Why should your media company market to this segment? Are these people really still listening to the radio and watching television if most of their time is spent betting on sports online?

 

Yes, they are! Sports bettors are still using the radio and television, as well as web media just like everyone else. It would be a missed opportunity not to engage with this demographic on these forums. 4 out of 10 sports bettors enjoy listening to sports talk. 1 out of 4 enjoy listening to newscasts.

 

According to the Futuri + SmithGeigerGroup study, half of the survey takers said that they bet on season games, playoffs, and big events like the Super Bowl and March Madness. 4 out of 10 of the survey takers said they would see it as a positive if local news programs were to offer odds, betting lines, and best bets in their sports reports

 

Wouldn’t it be great to engage with sports bettors and always have engaging content to keep them coming back? SportsEdge can help you accomplish exactly that!

 

eSports Viewership on the Rise

Sports betters are a big market, but what about eSports viewers as well? 

 

We can answer that with a resounding YES.

 

The numbers are astounding and represent a wide market: there are slightly more men than women playing video games. 3 out of every 4 children play video games. The median age of the video gamer is 31, so half of all gamers are older than 31 and the other half is younger. Half of all video game players play seven or more hours a week, but still have time for life’s other activities and traditional mainstream media consumption.

 

Best of all, 227 million US consumers played video games in 2021, an increase from the 214 million who played in 2020. Furthermore, there were 26.6 million monthly eSports viewers in the US in 2021. That number is projected to grow to 31.4 million in 2023.

 

That’s a lot of people, but what about the money? There is $1.8 BILLION anticipated eSports revenue by 2022. 69% of this eSports revenue will come from sponsors or ads. Media rights, ticket sales, and merchandise will account for only the other 31% of eSports revenue.

 

Particularly with eSports, there are unique opportunities for advertising such as appealing to a niche audience, but best of all having a large audience for a long time period at a low cost. That sounds like a winning equation to me!

 

With such a growing interest in eSports and revenue to be gained in this area, why would you want your company to get left out of all the action?

Sports Betting and eSports: Key Takeaways

 

Now you know why sports betting and eSports are two key audiences in advertising that need to be capitalized on by your company. 

 

If you’re ready to take advantage of this, we’re ready to help.

 

We can’t wait to add SportsEdge to the TopicPulse family of products that we already offer, and we’re confident that you’re not going to want to miss out on getting involved early with this product, so stay tuned! 

 

Adjusting to the Expectations of the Modern Audience

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 It’s time to take another look at some of the noteworthy discoveries resulting from The Future of Audience and Revenue study, from Futuri and SmithGeigerGroup. 

In my last post, we introduced you to the key discoveries that came about from this study. Media consumers and their needs are evolving – and if news outlets and content creators want to keep up, we’d better evolve too.

In this post, we’ll be taking a look at what exactly the modern audience expects from their media experience in 2021 and how you can prepare to meet those needs. Don’t worry–these aren’t unattainable goals. They just take a little planning and effort. 

Three Ways to Adjust to the Change in Audience Expectation

Cultivate Trust

What do CNN, PBS, and Newsmax all have in common? Less than 50% of the 2,000+ responders in our study respondents considered these “mainstream” media sources as trustworthy institutions. That number steadily declined along with the age of American media consumers, dropping beneath 25%.

From this, one thing is clear: today’s media consumers are looking for someone they can trust. 

…So where are people looking for content they can trust? We’ve concluded the talking heads at big institutions are out, and local news providers are in.

Find the Right Content

That leads us to another question: how can content creators source new content that’s sure to grab a consumer’s attention?

Futuri’s survey revealed that social media is key. Content creators need to make the most of social media in their bid to reach consumers, and it isn’t enough to rely on rates of usage. We all have that one relative who takes those clickbait articles on Facebook as the gospel truth. This means it’s important to sort the wheat from the chaff.

It’s good news, then, that we’re seeing an increase in the development of tools aimed at making this process faster and easier. Futuri is ready to answer this demand with its AI-driven content discovery tool, TopicPulse. Whether you’re looking to reach audiences through traditional communication methods like radio or television, or producing digital content, TopicPulse provides a platform you can use to get your specific audience just what they’re looking for. This tool lets users sort news from both big studio creators and local producers, ensuring that it meets consumers’ needs across the board.

Social Media is Key

Since the modern audience has changed, content creators need to change the way they reach their audience, too – and there’s no way to do that without embracing social media!

The best way to do this is to be willing to invest in social and digital platforms. This is going to require a lot of hard work and investment, but it will be well worth the effort.

We rolled up our sleeves and really dug into social media for the Future of Audience and Revenue study, so please contact Futuri or visit the study’s page to learn more. 

 

A New Dawn for Media Companies

The days of channel surfing are gone. Audiences know what they want, whether they’re listening to podcasts or streaming their favorite show, and there are a LOT of options.

But fear not! While the breadth of different media channels may seem a little daunting for your company at first, it also presents an opportunity for unprecedented growth. All that’s required is a commitment to finding opportunities for success and being willing to invest in them.

Luckily, Futuri is here to help. From some of the best tools for radio, television, and digital publishers to a deep look at where the future of the industry lies, we’ll support you and your company’s growth.

Some Key Findings from The Future of Audience and Revenue 2021

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Futuri Media recently concluded our most insightful nationwide media study to date: The Future of Audience and Revenue 2021 study, with SmithGeigerGroup.

 

In preparation to make these industry-shaking discoveries public, let’s discuss a few of the key findings from the study as a preview, of sorts. While this is only the tip of the iceberg, my hope is that it serves as a conversation starter moving into the release of the study. 

 

On Tuesday, October 12, CEO Daniel Anstandig will present a series of webinars with takeaways and action steps for using the information from our SmithGeiger study to grow your content, audience, and revenue. Hopefully, you can register for a spot for this exclusive event. 

 

The Purpose of The Future of Audience and Revenue 2021

When we got the ball rolling for one of the most innovative media studies ever recorded, there were three big questions that were common threads through all the uncertainty we identified in the current media and audience landscape:

 

  1. How Americans perceive, consume, and pay for media content today, particularly now that we’ve been experiencing pandemic-related disruptions for more than a year and a half.
  2. How media executives perceive the sector and its ability to meet future challenges.
  3. How media executives can leverage technology to impact content, audience, and revenue growth

 

We were resoundingly successful at not only answering those questions, but implementing the answers into action steps that can be used to unlock revenue growth and enhance ROI. This helped lead to our key findings. 

Key Findings from The Future of Audience and Revenue 2021

Futuri Media analyzed the results from SmithGeigerGroup’s work to break the findings down into VERY specific industry-level takeaways — many of which we’ll discuss during the October 12 webinars. 

 

But, for the sake of this blog, let’s discuss a few higher-level findings that apply to all industries.

Social media is the greatest opportunity for content, audience, and revenue growth.

No longer can we identify ‘alternative’ news sources because those we used to consider as such have all become mainstream. Mainstream to the point, even, that many people are consuming more news on social media than the “traditional channels” of old — eye-opening numbers that will be revealed in the whitepaper. But fear not. This is an opportunity, not a challenge. If we can embracing and master new platforms and channels, it’s a huge opportunity to reach new markets and user profiles with the content that they want while using the medium they choose to consume it.

Investment in social and digital platforms is essential for growth. 

Piggy-backing off the first point is this: while social media and digital platforms are an opportunity, they’re also a necessity. To keep up with the industry, we much make the required changes in company culture, strategy, systems, technology, and personnel in order to meet the opportunities of the new normal. It will take hard work and considerable investment, but those investments will unlock more revenue potential down the line. 

 

The Modern Audience Can’t Get Enough

If the pandemic’s impact on the industry needed to be reduced down to one thought, it’s this: people want more. More news. More entertainment. More social media. Overall, the demand for media has never been more robust. Today, 41% of Americans are consuming more than 10 hours of video per week, and 64% consume more than 5 hours. Between Q1 and Q2 2021 alone, we were astounded to discover that:

 

  • 57% watched streamed content more often.
  • 51% watched TV more often.
  • 48% used social media more often.
  • 30% listened to local AM/FM radio stations more often.

 

In other words, while the industry is changing, there’s never been a better time to be a part of it. The tree of opportunity is ripe for the picking. 

 

And the number one finding…

Our biggest key takeaway — one that significantly impacts every vertical of the industry — is something I’m too excited about to share in a blog post. I’ll be revealing that industry-shaking discovery and much more in the October 12 webinars, so we hope to see everybody there!

 

You can register for your spot right here. 

Three Surprising Findings about the Modern Audience

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We are thrilled to dive into The Future of Audience and Revenue study, from Futuri and SmithGeigerGroup.  Because of its incredibly wide-ranging nature, we want to take time to unpack some of the most eye-opening discoveries on our blog, and that quest begins today. 

 

As a reminder, this extensive study was Futuri’s most groundbreaking research yet and the result of polling more than 2,000 Americans and over 200 media executives about five key news verticals: radio, TV, social media, digital publishing and esports.

 

Now, as the study’s coverage begins to swirl from news outlets like Inside Radio, Radio World, and NAB Amplify, we want to break down the first of many industry-changing discoveries: ways the modern audience is changing. 

 

What is the “modern audience”?

When we say “modern,” we mean it. The Futuri Study looks at how media consumers were impacted during and after the COVID-19 pandemic permanently changed lives. Specifically, the surveys were conducted between late spring and mid-summer 2021. 

 

With that in mind, here are three of the most surprising discoveries about the modern audience group.

 

Three Surprising Finds from The Future of Audience and Revenue study about Modern Audience

Based on the survey, here are three surprising takeaways about the modern audience in relation to the current media landscape. 

 

It’s time to redefine our favorite media terms:

From conversations in our focus groups, we learned there is no more “TV” and no more “radio.” Instead, there is “video” and “audio” delivered on multiple platforms and consumed by different audiences every moment of the day. There is also all manner of written and visual content. Some platforms blur the lines. As media creation and consumption change, our perception of “media” must also change.

 

In other words, if your friend tells you he is watching TV, he might be: streaming on his Tablet, using YouTube on his phone, following a webinar on his desktop browser, or, of course, actually watching TV!

 

The new definition of TV is much broader than ever before. 

 

The Modern Audience is More Connected and Active than Ever Before

Not only are modern consumers changing the way they talk about media… they’re consuming a lot more of it!

 

As our study revealed, the demand for media content is at an all time high. In America, 41% of people consume more than 10 hours of video per week and 64% — almost two-thirds — consume more than 5 hours. That is a LOT of video! 

 

Here are a few ways how people’s media consumption habits changed between Q1 and Q2 of 2021 alone:

 

  • 57% watched streamed content more often. 
  • 51% watched TV more often.
  • 48% used social media more often.
  • 30% listened to local AM/FM radio stations more often

 

With this many consumer habits on the rise, something else is on the rise, too…

The Modern Audience is ready to SPEND

The modern audience is willing to pay good money for good content! This is GREAT news for all of us. 

 

While our consumer habits might be leaning towards craving more content, the price we’re willing to pay is rising to match.

 

Americans are already spending between $37 and $51 per month on video and audio subscriptions depending on age, and in the case of more affluent HHI $100k+ consumers, this number has reached $66. 

 

Best of all? There’s still room for those numbers to climb as more unique offerings and platforms are created. 

 

If news outlets and content creators can tap into the honey hole of what consumers are craving, there’s an opportunity to create a new subscription-based income method that can revitalize a balance sheet. 

 

Where do we go from here?

If you were keeping a score of the pros and cons from this list, my hope is that you have no “cons” and three “pros.” 

 

While the modern audience is changing what it thinks of as media, it still craves quality content and is willing to open up its wallet to acquire it. 

 

Because of this, we shouldn’t fear “the end,” but look forward to a better future for our industry! 

 

And we’ve just scratched the surface of the breadth of research about the modern audience from this study. If you’re ready to learn more about this group–and how your company can learn and profit–then we encourage you to sign up for my free webinar on October 12. In it, we’ll be looking at how the findings of The Future of Audience and Revenue 2021 apply to three unique vertices: radio, television, and digital publishing. You can sign up for the time best aligned with your vertical. 

 

Remember, a change in the modern media’s audience and landscape doesn’t mean an end to profitability for your company. Instead, it means more profitability if you have the tools and knowledge to connect with your audience. Futuri Media is here to help. 

 

Come back for my next post when we discuss practical ways to adjust to the change in audience behavior. 

Some Key Findings from The Future of Audience and Revenue 2021

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Futuri Media recently concluded our most insightful nationwide media study to date: The Future of Audience and Revenue 2021 study, with SmithGeigerGroup.

 

In preparation to make these industry-shaking discoveries public, let’s discuss a few of the key findings from the study as a preview, of sorts. While this is only the tip of the iceberg, my hope is that it serves as a conversation starter moving into the release of the study. 

 

On Tuesday, October 12, CEO Daniel Anstandig will present a series of webinars with takeaways and action steps for using the information from our SmithGeiger study to grow your content, audience, and revenue. Hopefully, you can register for a spot for this exclusive event. 

 

The Purpose of The Future of Audience and Revenue 2021

When we got the ball rolling for one of the most innovative media studies ever recorded, there were three big questions that were common threads through all the uncertainty we identified in the current media and audience landscape:

 

  1. How Americans perceive, consume, and pay for media content today, particularly now that we’ve been experiencing pandemic-related disruptions for more than a year-and-a-half.
  2. How media executives perceive the sector and its ability to meet future challenges.
  3. How media executives can leverage technology to impact content, audience, and revenue growth

 

We were resoundingly successful at not only answering those questions but implementing the answers into action steps that can be used to unlock revenue growth and enhance ROI. This helped lead to our key findings. 

Key Findings from The Future of Audience and Revenue 2021

Futuri Media analyzed the results from SmithGeigerGroup’s work to break the findings down into VERY specific industry-level takeaways — many of which we’ll discuss during the October 12 webinars. 

 

But, for the sake of this blog, let’s discuss a few higher-level findings that apply to all industries.

Social media is the greatest opportunity for content, audience, and revenue growth.

No longer can we identify ‘alternative’ news sources because those we used to consider as such have all become mainstream. Mainstream to the point, even, that many people are consuming more news on social media than the “traditional channels” of old — eye-opening numbers that will be revealed in the whitepaper. But fear not. This is an opportunity, not a challenge. If we can embracing and master new platforms and channels, it’s a huge opportunity to reach new markets and user profiles with the content that they want while using the medium they choose to consume it.

Investment in social and digital platforms is essential for growth. 

Piggy-backing off the first point is this: while social media and digital platforms are an opportunity, they’re also a necessity. To keep up with the industry, we much make the required changes in company culture, strategy, systems, technology, and personnel in order to meet the opportunities of the new normal. It will take hard work and considerable investment, but those investments will unlock more revenue potential down the line. 

 

The Modern Audience Can’t Get Enough

If the pandemic’s impact on the industry needed to be reduced down to one thought, it’s this: people want more. More news. More entertainment. More social media. Overall, the demand for media has never been more robust. Today, 41% of Americans are consuming more than 10 hours of video per week, and 64% consume more than 5 hours. Between Q1 and Q2 2021 alone, we were astounded to discover that:

 

  • 57% watched streamed content more often.
  • 51% watched TV more often.
  • 48% used social media more often.
  • 30% listened to local AM/FM radio stations more often.

 

In other words, while the industry is changing, there’s never been a better time to be a part of it. The tree of opportunity is ripe for the picking. 

 

And the number one finding…

Our biggest key takeaway — one that significantly impacts every vertical of the industry — is something we’re too excited about to share in a blog post. We’ll be revealing that industry-shaking discovery and much more in the October 12 webinars, so we hope to see everybody there!

 

You can register for your spot right here. 

 

Webinar for making appointment TV

WATCH NOW: Making Appointment TV When You Have 10 (14? 24?) Hours of News

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Access Tim Wolff’s webinar on proven ways to keep your viewers engaged

“Tonight at 5, this story, then at 5:30, that story, at 6, another story, and make sure to watch at 10 and 11 when we have another must-see story…”

This is what it can feel like to be a promotions producer, trying to figure out how to tell viewers they need to watch every newscast every day. Unfortunately for the viewers, they just can’t hold that many stories in their heads at once as critical, must-watch stories. Besides, 90% of the newscast isn’t really set until just a few hours before air. So how do you convince viewers there are times when they need to watch your news? [Interested in a fascinating blog post on this subject? Read here!]

This webinar explores ways to find effective, quick, and easy stories and tease them in ways that turn your short-time viewers into long-watching viewers… and viewers who pay attention to your newscasts, instead of leaving them quietly running on the wall.

Enter your information below to access the on-demand webinar now!



Blog post on making appointment TV

Making Appointment TV When You Have 10 (14? 24?) Hours of News

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Local stations have more news time than ever. But with all that time on the air, do viewers really think they’re missing something if they don’t watch? Here’s how to build appointment viewing so your viewers know the value of your newscasts–and know when to tune in for the biggest impact.  

By Tim Wolff

“Tonight at 5, this story, then at 5:30, that story, at 6, another story, and make sure to watch at 10 and 11 when we have another must-see story…”

This is what it can feel like to be a promotions producer, trying to figure out how to tell viewers they need to watch every newscast every day. Unfortunately for the viewers, they just can’t hold that many stories in their heads at once as critical, must-watch stories. Besides, 90% of the newscast isn’t really set until just a few hours before air. So how do you convince viewers there are times when they need to watch your news?

It’s a question that gets more complex every day, with time-shifted viewing and a plethora of places to find news. The biggest challenge, however, is the sheer amount of time local news is on. Many local ABC/CBS/NBC stations now do 3 hours in the morning, an hour at midday, 3 hours in the evening, and a late newscast, too. Some Fox stations add another 3 hours in the morning and sometimes 90 minutes at night. When you are on the air for 10 or 14 hours a day, you face the same challenge that 24/7 news stations face: how to avoid having your news turn into wallpaper for your viewers.

What you need is a reason for them to consciously turn you on, and, once there, to choose to watch you for longer. What you need is appointment television.

Trying for appointment TV

Some stations try to solve the appointment TV conundrum by switching the on-air talent. It’s almost like saying, “We might have the same stories at 4 o’clock and 5 o’clock, but different anchors are reading them, and because everyone in our DMA knows the names of each of our anchors and when they are on tv every day, it becomes appointment viewing for them. Unless someone is on vacation or working on sweeps–then the 5:00 anchor also anchors the 4 and the 6, but that only happens for 3 or 4 months out of the year.”

Right. Unless your anchor truly is a transcendent superstar (and there really are a few), their talent alone won’t create appointment viewing in the middle of a 3-hour block of news.

Some of you are thinking that what you really need to do is enterprise more, and ramp up promotions of big stories. While that is probably true, that is only a small dent in your news day. Your promotions team and your leadership might all be extremely focused on a great 4-minute investigative piece at 6 pm… but your viewers are hopefully also curious about the other 9 hours and 56 minutes of news. You’re not going to fill all that with enterprise news that you can spend limitless hours creating promotions for.

You’re also not going to add a whole bunch of staff to try to create more new content. Instead, what we are seeing at most stations are hours of news that are essentially repeats.  Some stations have even taken to repeating entire news blocks every half hour…but if you’re one of those stations, you may be beyond help.

Watch, repeat, repeat: the morning conundrum

I watched 4 hours of a local morning show recently, just to see what the viewer experience was like. This happened to be a station that did a lot of repeating; what you saw at 5am was mostly what you saw at 6am, at 7am, and 8am. They did mix in another reporter, and had one or two interview segments. But about 80% of the show was re-racked videos and scripts. Even the teases, which are the lifeblood of keeping viewers watching longer, were copied from one hour to the next.

Newsrooms might tell themselves that the repetition is fine, because the average morning viewer only watches for 20 minutes. Unfortunately, it is a self-fulfilling prophecy. As a viewer, would you keep watching a show where they teased stories you’d already seen?  Besides, the best way to get those viewers watching for a longer average is to give your loyal viewers a reason to watch longer.  Your loyal viewers like you. They want to watch more.  But the repetition just sends them away.

But you can’t add staff.  You can’t snap your fingers and have all the news be new.  And your producers can’t magically produce more stories while they are boothing 3 hours of live television.

Or can they? 

A solution to help your overworked staff

What you need is a simple, easy way to at least add a few new stories that will pop for the viewers. They need to be easy turns, and they are unlikely to magically appear on the wires or your affiliate feeds.

You need to help your staff find these stories, and social listening is a great way. There are products that will tell you which posts you and your competitors are having success with, or which stories are trending nationally. But what you really need is the next step: knowing what is just beginning to trend, and what will be trending with your local audience over the next few hours.  There’s a great tool called TopicPulse ContentAdvantage, which tells you what those stories are, and even tells you whether other news outlets are covering them. It even offers a quick, easy way for your staff to turn those stories into videos you can put on air (or online). And because it is predictive, your producers can have confidence that those new teases they quickly write will resonate with your audience.

 

You won’t be able to reduce that 80% repetition to 0%, but you might be able to get it to 60%, while feeling a lot fresher to your audience.  

 

It’s true in the evening news, too.  Once your 4pm news starts, your assignment desk is focused on crew logistics, your reporters, producers, crews and managers are focused on finishing their stories for air, and your digital team is busy putting out digital versions of what you’re airing.  If you’re on live from 4 to 6:30, then live again at 7, that doesn’t leave much time to be finding new news.  Having someone spend a few minutes in an efficient way finding stories your local audience is interested in can make all the difference in having something teaseworthy for the next newscast.  That’s the best way to create appointment viewing; when your viewers are already there, and need reasons to watch another newscast.

Finding those quick and easy stories and teasing them well may be all you need to turn your short-time viewers into long-watching viewers…and viewers who pay attention to your newscasts, instead of leaving them running quietly on the wall.

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.

Want to learn more about this crucial topic, especially as sweeps approach? Enter your information below for immediate access to Tim Wolff’s webinar on this topic. 



Tim Wolff and Tom Raponi Join Futuri, Expanding Reach for Its Content, Audience, and Revenue AI for TV Broadcasters and Digital Publishers

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TV and digital publishing industry executives join Futuri’s growing team.

Cleveland, Ohio, February 16, 2021 — Futuri, the leading provider of AI-driven audience engagement and sales intelligence technology for media, today announced two new senior leaders on its team who are focused on developing its suite of offerings for local, network, and cable television and digital publishers. Futuri’s AI-powered software for media includes TopicPulse, the story discovery and social content system that uses predictive AI to get ahead of topics trending with local audiences, and POST, Futuri’s enterprise podcasting system.

Tim Wolff joins Futuri as Vice President, TV and Digital Publishing Innovation. In this newly created position, Wolff will guide Futuri’s product strategy for TV and digital publishing solutions, translate user feedback into actionable product guidance, and develop R&D studies and content related to technology innovation in this space. 

Wolff is a digital and broadcasting leader who’s led top-performing TV and digital publishing teams. In Wolff’s 20+ years of experience, he’s held content executive roles at stations including KSDK-TV St Louis, WHAS-TV Louisville, and WHIO-TV Dayton. Wolff joins Futuri from Cox Media Group Ohio, where he oversaw digital for one of the country’s only converged newsrooms. His group included three daily newspapers, three radio stations, WHIO-TV, Dayton.com, and several other digital products. 

Tom Raponi joins the Futuri Board of Advisors. Raponi will advise on strategy for Futuri’s content, audience, and revenue AI for TV broadcasters. 

Raponi is a respected veteran of the broadcast space, having spent the bulk of his 39-year career in VP/General Manager and senior-level sales management roles at major-market stations, including WFXT Boston and KTVU/KICU in the San Francisco Bay area. During his career, Raponi has worked extensively with news, marketing, and sales research. Before starting his media career with Katz Communications in 1979, Raponi was signed to a professional contract with the Detroit Tigers.

“TV broadcasters and digital publishers are all struggling to grow their content, audience, and revenue, and Futuri technology has been proven to deliver results on all fronts,” said Futuri CEO Daniel Anstandig. “Adding the considerable skill, experience, and insight of Tim Wolff and Tom Raponi to our team is a privilege, as Futuri solutions become even more essential and helpful to the TV broadcasting and digital publishing industries.” 

“Futuri has elegant solutions that cut through the BS to fix real problems in TV broadcasting and digital publishing. They have a spirit and ethos of working with journalists to help them create stronger connections with their community,” said Wolff. “Working with Daniel Anstandig and the Futuri team, I can use my experience and knowledge to help not just one newsroom, but newsrooms around the country.” 

“Senior leaders in the TV business are in a challenging time where growing content, audience, and revenue requires the ability to combine the science of predictive AI and research with the art of storytelling to maximize their results and stay relevant,” said Raponi. “Driving growth for its partners is core to what Futuri and Daniel Anstandig do every day, and I’m thrilled to join the team and help drive growth for the TV industry.”

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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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.

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