AUGUST 12, 2019 RADIOINK•COM 35
They also have a few original shows
that are anchored by exciting talent,
focusing on contemporary, leading-edge
conversations that appeal to the type of
audience they want to attract to their
service. A great example of this is the
mighty Tracy Clayton and her Netflix-
exclusive show, Strong Black Lead.
Tina Nole: I’m about to give away the
farm here, but a radio station is a pow-
erful distribution platform. People still
tune in and listen, and radio stations
own multiple communication channels
(Web, social media). Why in the world
would you not just make an already
successful radio show available for
download as a podcast and run ads, sell
merch, and cross-market your other
shows?
From there, use your growing podcast
platform to launch other shows that
go deeper into the stuff your audience
is already coming to you for — sports,
politics, local interest stories — sky’s the
limit!
Additionally, why not use your talent
for bonus material as a podcast? You
have a talented commentator? Have
them do a side podcast and rant away.
You have someone in traffic who knows
the ins and outs of your city streets?
Have them create a show about those
streets, tell stories, and insert secret
ways to get around town — cross-pro-
mote it on the terrestrial side and build
an audience.
Mark Asquith: Perhaps controversially, I
don’t see ad revenue as a huge generator
of revenue for radio in podcasting. Rather,
I believe that investment in quality bonus/
extra/followup content, or even exclusive
talent-led content, is a real opportunity
for radio. I’d even be interested in see-
ing certain networks experimenting with
micropayments for single content as
opposed to the typical “subscribe to this
‘Netflix-of-podcasting’” idea — imagine
being able to pay a buck to listen to the
next hour of a show that just finished,
exclusively via a podcast app.
Rob Greenlee: I think it can be a strong
revenue model, but they must build local
podcast listeners to local podcast con-
tent that is compelling to the podcast
listener demographic. Find local adver-
tisers that are looking to reach new cus-
tomers locally and nationally.Matt Cundill: It can become another
way to make money, and I really believe
that partnering with a podcast host that
offers dynamic ad insertion is the best
revenue method long-term. However,radio stations need deeper catalogues
of evergreen content and should not be
looking to monetize on day one. If build-
ing a podcast from scratch, look at it as
a marketing opportunity first, and a rev-
enue generator later.Dave Beasing: I’m biased because my
company’s niche is branded content. But
I truly think that’s radio’s most obvious
opportunity. So far, I’ve yet to see com-
mercial radio salespeople consistently
sell the ads in local on-demand content.Getting one sponsor to let you tell their
story is probably easier. To the sales
team, it feels like selling a 20-minute
commercial instead of a 60-second com-
mercial. They get it. Of course, the hard
part is getting someone to care enough
about a 20-minute commercial to down-
load and listen to it, and that’s where
top-notch content people come into play.A branded podcast that sounds like a
Sunday-morning public affairs show will
not succeed.Radio Ink: Why should someone in radio
launch (or not launch) a podcast?
Elsie Escobar: If someone in radio is
looking to test things out, get inspired
once again by the power of audio, or
have more control over their own con-
tent, podcast. If there is something that
simply would never work on radio —
podcasting is the place to do it!Tina Nole, Founder, Larj Media