2023 was the year of podcast cutbacks, argues a new piece today, pointing to a whole slew of layoffs and show cancellations.
It also argues that iOS 17 played a role, by replacing an artificially inflated picture of podcast popularity with a more realistic one …
2023 podcast cutbacks
The Verge sums up a gloomy picture for those working in podcasting.
Spotify went through three separate layoffs this year, laying off 2,300 people in total, including a sizable chunk of Spotify’s podcast workforce and executives. The company is now almost a third (27.5 percent) smaller than the 8,300-plus workforce it was only a year ago. The Swedish audio giant also killed off and absorbed the podcast companies it bought for nearly $400 million in 2019 (the podcast studios Gimlet and Parcast, and the hosting platform Anchor). SiriusXM laid off 475 employees across all divisions and sunset Stitcher, the podcast app it bought for $325 million in 2020. There were podcast job cuts at CNN, the Los Angeles Times, Malcom Gladwell’s podcast studio Pushkin Industries, Vox Media (The Verge’s parent company), The Athletic, ESPN, TWiT, Sony Music, Barstool Sports, Futuro Media, Marvel Entertainment, PRX, iHeartMedia, and others […]
NPR cut 10 percent of its workforce in order to make up for a $30 million gap in its budget, and it stopped production on Invisibilia, Louder than a Riot, Rough Translation, and Everyone & Their Mom. WNYC laid off 6 percent of its staff, with most cuts impacting their podcast vertical. It also canceled the podcasts More Perfect and La Brega, and gave the nearly decade-old podcast Death, Sex & Money until the end of the year to find a new home or source of funding.
iOS 17 played a role
It suggests that one change introduced by Apple in iOS 17 played a role in this.
With the release of iOS 17, Apple Podcasts no longer automatically downloads new episodes if you don’t play a podcast for the past 15 days — or if you’re running low on storage. And once you return to the podcast, Apple Podcasts won’t download the old episodes you missed — although automatic downloads will resume.
Previously, you could appear to have a very popular show if people at some point added it to the app, but then stopped listening to it. Those automatic downloads now cease after just a fortnight, presenting a far more realistic picture of how many people are actually listening to current episodes of a show.
Additionally, Acast – described as the world’s largest independent podcast hosting company – is no longer accepting analytics from Spotify, because “Spotify both sells podcast ads and then measures the effectiveness of those ad campaigns.” That potentially removed another overly optimistic picture of the sector.
There is some good news for 2024
The same report notes that, even with more accurate analytics, podcasting does now seem to be on the rise again, with podcast revenue increasing. The site’s Amrita Khalid suggests that brands can now have more confidence in the data they receive, which may encourage more investment.
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