Broadcasters see big opportunity with podcasts, but risk being disrupted by new platforms like Gimlet, Wondery

• News podcasts make up a small portion of podcasts, but they're among the most popular.
• Traditional radio broadcasters are trying to capitalize on this trend, according to a report from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.
• But these broadcasters, especially US ones, face significant competition from new podcast studios.
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News publishers have a big opportunity to use podcasting to grow audience and revenue, but they face heavy competition from podcast-only platforms.

A new study published by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism found that news podcasts account for only 6% of the 770,000 existing podcasts, but they're among the most popular.

About 21% of the most popular podcasts in the US on the Apple Podcast charts are news shows, and news podcasts in other countries have a similar showing, according to the Reuters Institute.

News podcasts started to take off in early 2017 and took off in 2018. Almost 12,000 news podcasts were launched between January and October of 2019, a jump of 32%, according to the Reuters Institute.

Some publishers that are established in audio are earning significant revenue from their podcasts. Slate, for instance, is selling out of ads before their shows launch, and now generates more than half of its revenue from podcasts.

NPR expects to make more than $55 million from podcasting next year, which more than it makes from radio sponsorships, according to the Reuters Institute.

Broadcasters face increasing competition from new platforms

TV and radio broadcasters like NPR, WNYC, and the BBC are the biggest producer of podcasts in all five countries examined by the Reuters Institute - the US, the UK, Australia, France, and Sweden.

But in the US, major podcast studios like Gimlet, Stitcher, and Wondery are quickly catching up, posing competition that's reminiscent of the threat that traditional print media faced from digital natives.

These studios have worked with print and digital media companies to create daily content - Gimlet produces "The Journal" with The Wall Street Journal, Stitcher teamed up with Vox Media to produce "Today, Explained," and Wondery worked with The Boston Globe on "Gladiator" - but TV and radio broadcasters have been reluctant to share content with the rest of the audio industry, the Reuters Institute found.

"The key problem here is for the broadcasters," said Nic Newman, a senior research associate at the Reuters Institute and one of the authors of the study. "This is their disruption in the same way digital was print's disruption."

Broadcasters not only have to compete with podcast studios, but have to worry about their podcasts being found on platforms, Newman told Business Insider.

Discovery is a common concern for podcasters, but broadcasters worry that platforms like Spotify will give preference to their own shows over broadcasters'.

Broadcasters are working to publish on their own platforms, but they might also have to rely on external podcast hubs

Broadcasters can promote their podcasts on their own sites, but it's hard to convince listeners who are already using popular listening apps like Apple's to change their behavior, Newman said.

"The majority of podcast use is through these platforms, not directly through the broadcasters, so they risk losing connection with their audience," Newman said. "They do not want Google or Spotify to take their content to build their own business."

Publishing podcasts on popular platforms could help radio attract younger listeners, so broadcasters should strike a balance between working with new players and driving traffic to to their own platforms, Newman said.

In the UK, for instance, the BBC publishes first on its app BBC Sounds, then on other podcast platforms several hours later. Newman predicted more broadcasters following suit.

"In a world of infinite audio content, they're no longer going to be the only place you can get this content from," he said.