News podcasts are at the centre of the audio revolution, with dozens of publishers around the world launching them in recent years. Following the success of The Daily from New York Times and DR’s Genstart on the Coronavirus lockdowns, they are attracting significant audience attention, but remain difficult to monetise.
In most countries, news podcasts are focused on politics. Extended chat formats are popular, but in some cases – especially those with more intense production requirements like The Daily, or the deep-dive weekly La Story from Les Echos – the investment is high and returns slow.
The result is that, in most countries, news podcasts are a small part of the overall market. For many, the most effective approach is to focus on one-off narrative series aimed at exploring a single news story. For example, Vox’s The Takeaway picks the top three breaking news stories each day, and its episodes are short enough to be digested during a commute or while walking the dog.
In other markets, public broadcasters are leading the way with native podcasts or reworking radio output. In Denmark, public broadcaster TV2 is competing with commercial players Berlingske and Politiken for upmarket news listeners, while tabloid Ekstra Bladet attracts younger audiences with true crime and entertainment podcasts. Meanwhile, renowned conservative commentator Ben Shapiro hosts a detailed and often provocative analysis of culture and politics from a right-wing perspective in the US. As the political landscape becomes increasingly polarised, news podcasts offer a unique platform for civil discourse in an era of echo chambers.