THE GROWING INDUSTRY OF PODCASTS
Q&A Series
Steve Raizes, Executive Vice President, Podcasting and Audio at Paramount Global, joins a panel to discuss the podcasting industry and its growing success! At Paramount Global, Steve and his team product winning podcasts such as The Daily Show: Ears Edition, MTV’s Official Challenge Podcast, On Fire with Jeff Probst, 48 Hours and more!
Add the Core Education Collection: Create Series to your registration and get ready for The Great Reset: Future of Podcasting from Hollywood and Beyond session to gain more valuable insight!
Core Education Collection (formerly NAB Show Conference)
What are the biggest trends impacting the community/industry right now?
The death of podcasting has been greatly exaggerated. We had an incredibly frothy period and the market is now stabilizing (which has unfortunately had real impacts on people and businesses). However, the overall trendlines remain extremely positive. We’re now beginning to see an adjustment – including deals based on known metrics along with an investment in shows that have a proven business model behind them.
What challenges does the community need to overcome, because of these trends?
On the optics front we need to continue to plant the flag for what makes this industry so great. First and foremost – creatively podcasting remains incredibly robust. And with that, we continue to pull in new audiences who care deeply about the medium. We need to push for better discovery to help aid those pods and, simultaneously, continue to both engage and educate the advertising community of the value of podcast advertising in terms of both top and bottom of the funnel.
What’s one thing you wish more media pros knew about?
There is no “make podcast” button that you can press to magically produce premium audio content. Every successful pod takes time, patience, artistry and a strongly differentiated POV.
What are the top 3 things that attendees should go hunt down on the show floor to expand what they just learned in your sessions?
Find three people attending the NAB Show who don’t actively listen to at least one podcast and talk to them. I admit this is a bit much but the podcasting industry has matured to the point that everyone who listens has their favorite shows that sit alongside the trades, email newsletters and TV news that bring them information essential to succeed. So going out and evangelizing the business to the never-listens (especially those who attend NAB) is key to continuing to push for growth.
What discussions should they be having with the exhibitors?
Go out and find the things that excite you, the stuff you wouldn’t normally think about, the things that seem just a little bit out there. The joy of these shows is the exploration and the serendipity of the floor itself.