Podcasts are a growing industry and may have the potential to take over radio broadcast in the future
TSHIAMO MONONYANE
SOUTH AFRICAN broadcast radio does not seem to be under threat from the rising phenomenon of podcasts.
This was the conclusion that was made at the Podmeet hosted by the Wits Radio Academy on Wednesday, March 7, at the Wits Arts Museum.
The Podmeet is a project launched in June 2017 by content producer and presenter, Elna Schütz, and is an industry meet up for people working within the podcasting space and for those who have interest in working within the space.
According to guest speaker and creator of the African Tech Round-up podcast, Andile Masuku, the radio broadcast industry is still dominant in the South African context and may not be under the threat of the podcast industry as yet. The main reason for the growing interest in the podcast platform is due to its accessibility.
Masuku believes that big broadcast brands may want to experiment with podcasting because of the low resources it requires, but reckons that “people (podcasters) who are building communities are going to win”.
According to the producer of the 1000 African Voices podcast, Avhurengwi Nengovhela, the growth within the podcast industry is due to the fact that it is “easy to start [and is] low cost”.
Nengovhela also says that the podcast industry has the potential to replace radio broadcast in the future because unlike podcasts where accessibility is not fixed to a certain time, radio broadcasts follow a particular programme on a fixed schedule.
“Yes, the world has shifted and people no longer have to wait for particular programmes to start, [and] people can now listen to programmes whenever they want to. One could also argue that in some other countries, it has replaced commercial radio,” he says. He also accredits the growth of the podcast industry to the advancement of technology as well as the ability to produce content at a low cost.
The next Podmeet will be hosted in June 2018.
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