The Effect of Coronavirus on Podcasts

Mar 31

As we all know, the Coronavirus pandemic has changed the way we’ve gone about our everyday lives.

The podcasting world has definitely changed too. According to data from Podtrac, downloads in the space overall have dropped about 10 percent since the start of March and total unique listeners also dropped roughly 20 percent in the same time frame.

Today, there are reports that podcast listens have dropped closer to 20% since the start of the month.

My theory: commuting to and from work has gone down significantly + gyms are closed, leading to a decline in podcast consumption.

Personally, I listen to podcasts when I’m driving and at the gym, but since I’ve done those two things less, I carve out an hour a day to walk and listen to podcasts and usually spend about 30-60 minutes while at home listening too.

When you’re driving a car or working out at the gym, it’s nearly impossible to watch a video or read an article or blog post. Now, while you’re staying and working from home (hopefully), you can watch a YouTube video, a Netflix movie/show or read articles on your phone or computer. Those directly impact the consumption of podcasts.

However, it’s not all bad news for the podcasting world. Podcasts with ‘Corona’ or ‘Covid’ in the title have been downloaded more than 27.5 million times globally to date. Also, podcasts in the news, politics, and comedy category are seeing increases in listenership.

Additionally, parents, who are usually driving to work, at work, driving back from work and going to the gym, are now at home with their kids ALL DAY. If they listen to podcasts, they may be listening to a lot more kid-friendly podcasts with their children. This is an opportunity for existing shows to double down on their marketing to reach these demographics, but also for new podcasters to create content for kids, both in the entertainment and education categories.

Another challenge during this time will be the production of podcasts. Take The Founder Hour as an example. We record all of our podcasts in person, with our guests, at their home or office. For the immediate future, that is now out of the question. In fact, the night before one of our biggest interviews yet with Scooter Braun, Trump addressed the nation on the Covid-19 crisis, the NBA suspended its season, and the world as we knew it changed. Of course, our interview got postponed too.

So what do podcasters who record in person have to do now? 1. Either take a hiatus until things normalize or 2. Adapt and find ways to record remotely.

Option #1 is a bad idea, in my opinion. I think it’s time for podcasters to get creative. If you’ve been creating for a while or just started, keep the momentum going. Listeners won’t forgive you if you stop releasing episodes.

Option #2 brings up another challenge - reduced audio quality. Does it matter? Will you lose listeners? I’m not sure. At The Founder Hour, we pride ourselves on having great sound quality for our listeners and have invested in great equipment. However, remote recording, albeit good, is not great. Plus, the face-to-face human connection and the camaraderie and chemistry is harder to develop over the phone or video chat. The situation isn’t ideal, but this is our reality.

What can be done? It seems like the only thing happening in the world now is the Coronavirus crisis and a whole lot of negativity, but there are a lot of positive stories that need to be shared too.

The Founder Hour shares stories of entrepreneurs and founders - how are they handling this crisis? Are there businesses affected? How do they deal with furloughs and layoffs? The conversations may change, but you need to keep going.

Podcast on, my friends!