Gareth Cliff, co-founder of CliffCentral.com and host of the Gareth Cliff Show.
As South Africa’s mainstream radio market struggles to develop, the rise in web penetration and accessibility to smartphones see the podcasting industry take off.This is the phrase from SA’s podcasting consultants, who say over the previous two years, extra South Africans have been consuming podcasts at an exponential charge, with listenership numbers catching up with the remainder of the phrase sooner than anticipated.According to PwC’s Media Outlook, the South African podcast market is forecast to be as much as 19 million month-to-month listeners by 2024, whereas the podcast promoting income phase is estimated to be value R302 million by 2023, as digital media more and more influences how the viewers consumes content material.Some of SA’s hottest podcasts embrace native and worldwide productions such as Podcast and Chill with MacG, On Purpose with Jay Shetty, The Gareth Cliff Show, 5 True Crime South Africa, The Money Show and TED Talks Daily, with the most well-liked garnering a minimal of 1 million listens per episode.While many doubt podcasting, additionally recognized as on-demand radio, will in the future turn into mainstream media, it stays undisputed that conventional media is present process a tectonic shift, as manufacturers look to innovation to have interaction prospects and affect their behaviour.Gareth Cliff, co-founder of CliffCentral.com and host of The Gareth Cliff Show, tells ITWeb that whereas the web radio station − which payments itself as a “podcast pioneer” − has a big reside viewers, the podcast and on-demand house is the place the most important listenership development lies.“The demand for and provide of high quality podcasts and on-demand content material is rising sooner than another medium in SA, partly as a result of rise of cheaper and extra accessible smartphones and the web.“When we began CliffCentral.com in 2014, hardly anybody even knew what a podcast was. Now, tens of millions of downloads later, we’re changing increasingly more folks day by day, as a result of podcasting is handy, simply accessible, and it goes the place mainstream radio can not – each when it comes to depth of debate and agenda.”According to Cliff, podcasts additionally enable listeners to seek out precisely the form of content material they care about, whereas mainstream broadcasters are sometimes anticipated to attempt to be too many issues, to please all kinds of listeners.CliffCentral.com’s stats doubled because the onset of lockdown and have continued to develop, he factors out.According to The Infinite Dial 2022 report launched in February, 61% of the South African main metro inhabitants aged 15 and older had listened to on-line audio within the earlier month, and 26% had listened to a podcast in the identical interval.While SA nonetheless has comparatively increased knowledge prices in comparison with most elements of the globe, Cliff is of the view that knowledge prices don’t pose a risk to the industry’s development.“It doesn’t actually hinder market development. Especially in the event you think about the expansion of TikTok, Instagram and Twitter in South Africa – to not point out the video-streaming platforms such as Netflix, Showmax and YouTube. Podcasts and live-streaming value a tiny fraction of what it prices to scroll by social media − and it’s a value persons are keen to bear.”Jon Savage, CEO of InBroadcasting, which specialises in broadcasting innovation throughout digital media platforms, says although podcasting has been round for a very long time in SA, the business development has boomed in recent times.
Jon Savage, CEO of InBroadcasting.
“I began my first podcast in 2010, however the business development has been sudden and speedy over the previous two years − and I imply from virtually zero to a really wholesome rising house.“The mainstream radio market is struggling and podcasting is an inexpensive various to radio promoting. An necessary contribution has been the addition of video as an appropriate part of podcasting, and so YouTube has turn into one other important software that has helped podcast development and monetisation.“SA could be very late to the occasion however the occasion has began and we’re seeing nice returns within the podcasting house already.”According to Savage, corporations lastly perceive the worth of podcasting and are beginning their very own platforms and networks to realize worth. This has led to many corporations evolving their enterprise technique to supply their very own podcasting channels, going past simply putting an advert on another person’s manufacturing.“There has been an enormous development of companies enjoying within the podcasting area and it is very thrilling.“According to Nielsen’s Podcast Ad Effectiveness examine launched in February 2022, 71% of surveyed shoppers stated host-read podcast advertisements result in increased ranges of curiosity, buy intent and advice intent, whereas 51% of listeners had a beneficial opinion of podcast promoting that features host voices or personalised discussions about merchandise/sponsors by the podcast hosts.”Greg Cohen, station supervisor of CliffCentral, says that as a result of excessive demand for podcasting from companies, CliffCentral has shifted its enterprise mannequin to assist a whole lot of South African manufacturers to craft and distribute their very own podcasts.“This shift resulted in new campaigns that depend on branded content material and content material advertising and marketing. It permits manufacturers to construct their very own priceless content material and viewers. The demand for that is rising. According to Chartable, there are greater than 8 000 branded podcasts, with a big uptick since 2020. Local manufacturers are realising rapidly how a great content material advertising and marketing technique is the way forward for promoting.”Digital advertising and marketing skilled, influencer and podcaster Deshnie Govender, additionally recognized as “DJ Roxxi”, says whereas SA has seen a lot development within the podcasting market, a number of obstacles stay.“There are nonetheless a variety of gray areas associated to getting correct promotion on platforms like Spotify or Apple Podcasts, so a podcaster’s finest guess is to leverage their different social media channels to drive visitors.“There continues to be an enormous alternative for extra development throughout industries; as an example, creating speak reveals primarily based on common soapies and producing episode recaps like they do within the US. Industry leaders might additionally use podcasting to drive instructional content material,” states Govender.
Digital advertising and marketing skilled, influencer and podcaster Deshnie Govender
https://www.itweb.co.za/content material/kLgB1Mez4N9q59N4
