Trends

What is going on in Big Podcast?

In every episode, Tim and Kyle talk about trends within the Podcast Industrial Complex (PIC). Then, at the end of each year, we go back through our list and see how we did.

Most of these trends (i.e. predictions) happen to come true.

However, to keep track of our success, we’ve compiled a list of all our predictions into a list for you to judge for yourself!

Podwrecked Bingo Cards

Predictions for 2020

  1. More True Crime podcasters will form content networks to improve their credibility and audience sizes in 2020 (Episode #8).
  2. A podcaster will have media credentials big enough to ask the President of the United States a question in 2020 (Episode #8).
  3. Google Podcasts will eventually be native to Android, will be on every phone, and become a “must-have” app for podcast listeners within the next three (3) years (Episode #9).
  4. We will make it to the 50 episodes this year and we will make another 50 next year (Episode #10).
  5. We are going to see a lot more people do that one-and-done episode. But that’s ok because they are going to learn to appreciate what goes into producing a podcast and they will become sponsors of podcasters who they like (Episode #10). #5.1 - The next Anchor-like company will appear in 2020!
  6. Audio Drama podcasters will be the next to leverage Patreon as their alternative monetization stream but only if they master bonus content and fan service outreach (e.g. live shows, swag, and appearances) (Episode #11).
  7. More podcasters will discover that recording before their audience live is one of the primary ways to grow their podcast 10-fold in 2019 (Episode #12).
  8. Kyle predicts that Apple will institute a new policy that will change the way they rank podcasts in the Apple Podcasts (iTunes) Directory by 2020 (Episode #14). #8.1 - Tired of waiting for Google to do it, Samsung creates its own podcast app!
  9. Kyle also predicts that Apple will start punishing podcasters this year (in the rankings) that have not released an episode in over six months (Episode #14). #9.1 - Apple will accept money to keep your podcast on the directory forever!
  10. Tim predicts that Disney is going to push into Kidcast podcasting behind a paywall by 2020 (Episode #16). #10.1 - Disney and Amazon form an unholy alliance!
  11. Kyle thinks the Content Wars are coming! As these big podcast networks lose their star talent they are going to start lurking around the smaller networks and either buy their network or start poaching their talent (Episode #20).
  12. Tim thinks that small businesses will be looking to expand advertising into new markets. They want to see this podcasting thing work in their market. Big ones take the risk first… then the smaller ones will be to the benefit of all podcasters (Episode #20).
  13. Kyle thinks that Dave will one day soon create a podcast devoted to his Crazy Morning Zoo Crew Binky and the Wiz (Episode #21).
  1. National Podcast Post Month (NaPodPoMo) will double in challenge participants in November 2020 (Episode #27).
  2. There will be one-million podcasts in Apple Podcasts by April 2020 (Episode #29).
  3. Growth of networks to keep up with content by buying up small podcasters to add to their portfolio (Episode #29).
  4. Fed and State governments expand podcast usage internally to employees for engagement (Episode #29).
  5. Podcasts get shorter to be more morning briefs vs long form - the middle will shink and the shorts and longs will get shorter and longer (Episode #29).
  6. The ear of podcast festivals/conferences has hit its critical mass. There will be less in 2020 (Episode #29)
  7. Someone will pay us $100 in 2020!!! (Episode #29).

The Podwrecked Oracles of Delphi

Predictions for 2019

  1. We believe that we will reach Podwrecked Episode #50 before 2020 (by EOD on December 31st, 2019) (Episode #7).
  2. We think that more low-budget and/or free podcasting media hosting companies will go out of business in 2019 and that the entire free hosting space business model will come to an end (Episode #7).
  3. We do think Google will double down on Audio Indexing in 2019, making audio content like podcasts searchable for the first time. It won’t be pretty, but it will get better in time and become part of their overall search tool (Episode #7).
  4. We don’t think Google will start caring about podcasting to the point that will threaten Apple’s market share in 2019 (Episode #7).
  5. We think there will be some new directory offerings that will start to threaten Apple’s podcast directory market share in 2019 (Episode #7).
  6. We don’t think Apple will start caring about podcasting again, at least enough to fix the poor search experience built into iTunes in 2019 (Episode #7).
  7. We think that there will be an explosion of political podcasts that will be established to produce content about the Presidential Primaries in 2019, with a few surviving to become the go-to podcasts for the 2020 Presidential Election (Episode #7).
  8. We think there will be so many short-form podcasts that new Short-Form Podcast Directories will start popping up for those that like bite-sized podcasts for their daily fix or smart speaker briefings (Episode #7).
  9. We think Big News (e.g. CBS, NBC, ABC, FOX, CNN, BBC) will go all in with daily and weekly podcasts in 2019. We think there will be so many daily news podcasts that we will be overwhelmed by all the content (Episode #7).
  10. We think there will be an explosion of short-form podcasts (i.e. daily podcasts) that will take advantage of smart speakers like Amazon Alexa and Flash Briefings (Episode #7).
  11. We think that the podcast technology-feeding frenzy has yet to start. We don’t think big companies will start buying little podcasting content companies to help them jump into the podcasting space just yet. It will be quiet in 2019… but maybe not for 2020 (Episode #7).
  12. Every Podcasting Host that charges money will be IAB certified in 2019. It will be the new standard for all upcoming podcast hosts that want to enter the industry (Episode #7).
  13. Podcasting will not go mainstream in 2019 but it will continue to develop — there are just too many other distractions that grab attention to allow podcasting “mainstream” — because 1. delivery, 2. people who know how or what podcasting is, 3. newbies getting into podcasting. Measurement is 75% of people know what a podcast is and knows what a podcast is. Listen once a month (Episode #7).

Genesis of the Podwrecked Salvage Team

Predictions for 2019

  1. Amazon will jump into the podcasting space in 2019 (Episode #1)
  2. Companies that invest in podcasting content creation will own the space in 2019 (Episode #2).
  3. Companies that invest in podcasting content creation will own the space in 2019 (Episode #3).
  4. The topic of proper podcast length will still be hotly debated in 2019 (Episode #4).
  5. We are going to see more deplatforming of podcasts in 2019 (Episode #5).
  6. We are going to see an explosion of educational-based podcasts and resources designed for the classroom in 2019 (Episode #6).
  7. Teaching educators how to podcast will lead the way to the first creation of a new kind of university system in 2019 (Episode #6).