Pacific Content has compiled a list of the major predictions for the Podcast industry in 2022.
All told over 75 predictions were received from industry leaders that contained many of the themes from 2021, including industry growth, advertising, audiences, and content strategies.
On one of the main predictions, surrounding Paid Subscriptions there were differing views with some experts like Wonder Media Network Co-founder, Shira Atkins, Co-founder, saying, “Paid channels and subscription-supported podcasts will be few and far between by end of the year. It is only the shows with *massive* audience, or the networks with startup capital that can make subscriptions sustainable, or throw off enough cash to be self-supporting.”
Others held a counter view, like Acast COO, Oskar Serrander, who says, “In 2022, we will see an influx of podcasters to the subscription game, and they’ll start experimenting with it — delivering not only bonus content to their fans, but a variety of other benefits like ad-free streaming, early releases, exclusive access to creators, and more.”
There was general agreement around the need for podcasters to step up their game and take audience development seriously, especially given the sheer volume of podcasts that are now available.
Head of Digital Audio, ARN/iHeartPodcast, Corey Layton, says, “The ongoing difficulty in building audiences and discoverability will lead to fewer one-off series. Expect to see the growth of parent feeds — retaining audiences with one broad subject matter, that shifts from series to series.”
iHeartMedia’s Bob Pittman adds, “Marketing will get more important than ever: As more creators launch podcasts, “cutting through” will become more important — and harder. Brands with big marketing platforms will win here every time.”
Radio and TV networks, streamers and studios, along with Facebook, Netflix and YouTube are all predicted to move more strongly into podcasting.
APM Studios COO, Alex Schaffert, says, “Networks, studios, and streamers that don’t yet have an original audio division will start one in 2022.”
However Shreya Sharma, Writer/Curator of Inside Podcasting, expects “… independent podcasters and networks will blossom. The exponential increase in celebrity podcasters seems to have spurred the indies to grow their shows with intention, through avenues including networking and education.”
Podcast advertising is expected to not only grow, but it will also ‘grow up’ with iHeartMedia’s CEO, Digital Audio Group, Conal Byrne, saying, “Podcast advertising will evolve into a good blend of titles and audience: Host-read ads will continue to be critical for brands to drive real engagement, as the essential value proposition of podcasting — but audience cohorts will complement these more and more on media plans — which will allow those plans to start driving real scale and start pulling in bigger budgets — for the networks that have scale.”
Podcast advertising is expected to not only grow, but it will also ‘grow up’ with iHeartMedia’s CEO, Digital Audio Group, Conal Byrne, saying, “Podcast advertising will evolve into a good blend of titles and audience: Host-read ads will continue to be critical for brands to drive real engagement, as the essential value proposition of podcasting — but audience cohorts will complement these more and more on media plans — which will allow those plans to start driving real scale and start pulling in bigger budgets — for the networks that have scale.”
Corey Layton says, “The demand for programmatic advertising will continue to soar. 2022 will be pivotal for publishers to maintain the premium nature of podcast advertising without letting the shouty ads in. Collectively we need to hold the line and ensure podcasts premium sound applies to not only the content but the bits in between.”
As for the big players, James Cridland, says, “Spotify will continue to grow, and become unarguably the most popular podcast app in most countries. To combat this, Apple Podcasts will launch an Android app, and become a champion of the open podcast ecosystem”
The full list of Pacific Content’s top 14 predictions is here