PodMov Daily: Thursday, August 29

Episode 33: Your Thursday Thoughts

Only Here: San Diego’s KPBS on Crafting a Long-Form Podcast

When San Diego’s KPBS set out to create Only Here, a long-form, documentary-style podcast about “the art scene in Tijuana and San Diego,” they were in new territory. The station had made radio shows and “short-run podcasts from independent producers,” but never a feature project of this scale. A team of just 3, a producer, host, and sound designer, rose to the challenge. Producer Kinsee Morlan found that episode plans expanded as they followed cultural threads.

Morlan reworked an episode about contemporary art tours in both cities to “incorporate [fear about] traversing the border, noting frequent headlines about the high number of homicides in Tijuana, and how the museum tours are meant to assuage those fears and bridge cultural gaps.” Now, Only Here “averages between 2,500 to 8,000 downloads per episode.” One top creator tip: identify a clear message and build the whole episode around it.

Radiodays Asia: The Future of Audio from Kuala Lumpur

Radiodays Asia, a new conference from the team behind Radiodays Europe, has just taken place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Rosie Smith reports on the conference, which focused on “the future of radio and audio businesses for broadcasters in Asia.” Discussions aimed to address “growing challenges from the fast digital transformation and changing media habits.”

Tim Watkins, Executive Producer of Podcasts at Radio New Zealand, delivered a session about producing podcasts versus radio shows. Stressing the importance of  a planned script with strong narrative structure, he instructed, “Paint a whole landscape, don’t sketch the lines.” Other speakers among many included Mark Cummins, Content Manager for SBS Australia, and James Cridland of Podnews.

ART19 Expands Listener-Focused Targeted Ad Service

ART19 has announced that its “listener-focused” targeted podcast marketplace now includes more than 200 series. Publishers include Headgum, Macmillan, Kast Media, The Paragon Collective, and Techmeme/Ride Home Media. “Our best-in-class deterministic targeting means that ad buyers can craft personalized messages on a listener-by-listener basis,” said ART19’s Chief Revenue Officer Lex Friedman.

The company was “initially focused exclusively on hosting and dynamic ad insertion technology for enterprise publishers,” but has recently expanded to provide direct monetization. The targeted marketplace allows advertisers to target listeners “across thousands of segments,” as well as by show category and geography.

Now’s Your Chance for a Post-Apocalyptic Western

Happy Thursday, everyone. Today we’re highlighting summer audio fiction picks from Elena Fernández Collins via Bello Collective. Shows include a “sci-fi musical adventure” and a “post-apocalyptic Western.” Enjoy!

Love,

Team PM

Here’s what else is going on:

• Road ahead: RØDECaster Pro’s Version 2.0 firmware update includes “the ability to save a snapshot of settings and sounds, more broadcast-style features (like being able to chat to callers “off-air”), [and] Podcast Transfer Mode for transferring podcasts directly from the unit to a computer.”
• Sound down south: Australia’s “premier podcast industry conference,” OzPod, takes place in Melbourne on October 3. Speakers include James Cridland, editor of Podnews; Owen Grover, CEO of Pocket Casts; and scripted podcast writer and director Dan Blank.
• Aiming high: Wondery celebrates the “major milestone” of reaching over 1 billion all-time downloads across the network. The company remains in the Top 5 on the latest Podtrac ranking and recently announced a star-studded TV adaptation of hit podcast Dr. Death.
• Like hotcakes: On August 18, Eyes on Gilead, a companion podcast to TV show Handmaid’s Tale, sold out a 500-seat live season finale in Sydney, NSW, Australia. Podnews reports that “listener feedback appears to indicate more TV viewing as a result of the podcast.”