Podcast format is trending for people who consume audio
UA survey carried out by TIC Domicílios from 2019 to 2021 points out that listening to podcasts among internet users almost doubled: from 16% to 31%. The study is the result of a partnership between Fundação Seade and Cetic.br|NIC.br, which analyzes the activities carried out on the internet by residents of the State of São Paulo. The results show possible changes in content consumption habits encouraged by social distancing during the pandemic. While the podcast audience has increased, that of readers of newspapers, magazines or the Internet has declined. In addition to this change, the analysis of the profile of Internet users in São Paulo who consume podcasts shows that the higher the level of education, the greater the format’s audience.
Eduardo Vicente, associate professor at the Department of Cinema, Radio and Television at the School of Communications and Arts at USP, conducts research in the area of popular music, music industry and radio and points out that the internet is primarily responsible for this change. “The increase in podcast consumption has everything to do with the popularization of the internet. That’s why these podcasts, made by directors from the periphery and, to some extent, aimed at this audience, are so popular today, one of the most popular we have. I think this is a trend, made by different people, different backgrounds, with different interests and different audiences. It won’t always grow like it has grown in recent years, the pandemic helped, the novelty helped, it will stabilize. But he is here to stay.”
New way to get informed
The podcast emerged, along with the internet, as a new form of information, with a diversity of programs and a new way of sharing and distribution that no longer depends on a broadcaster. Anyone can produce a show or series. The advantage is that this content is available on the network and can be listened to whenever and wherever the person wants, with a great diversity and a much broader language.
The profile of the podcast listener has also changed. At the beginning, it reached more of a university audience and predominantly male. Nowadays, there are peripheral podcasts, with many women producing and listening to this material. Professor Vicente believes that listeners will not stop listening to the radio or losing the habit of reading because of podcasts, but he believes that the number of listeners of the new format will only tend to increase.