6 months ago
2
‘If you privation existent news, power disconnected the TV.” Journalist Faye D’Souza whitethorn person said this successful her cameo in Call Me Bae (Ananya Panday’s show), but arsenic it turns out, Generation Z was already successful agreement.
Globally, these integer natives person been gravitating to podcasts for their quality diet, loving the medium’s intimate and genuine nature. Aditi Srivastava, 24, a bundle technologist successful Bengaluru, is 1 specified listener. “My go-tos are geopolitics and narrative-driven shows. I emotion contented that combines depth, storytelling, and meaningful perspectives — from Smita Prakash’s ANI Podcast for geopolitics, and the Desi Crime podcast for existent transgression narratives, to [Humans of Bombay’s] Realign – The Podcast for deep-dive idiosyncratic stories,” she says. “Podcasts enactment for maine arsenic they blend smoothly into my time without demanding further time. If I americium penning an email, travelling to the office, doing household chores, moving an errand, oregon doing thing that doesn’t necessitate my attention, I usually hop connected to a podcast parallelly.”
India ranks 3rd globally successful podcast consumption, and with 63% of Gen Z utilizing societal media for news, according to a 2023 survey by American steadfast Morning Consult, galore quality outlets are exploring podcasting. “Some of the bully planetary quality podcasts are the ones by bigger media houses like Global News Podcast by BBC World Service, Today Explained by Vox Media, and The Daily by The New York Times,” says Mae Mariyam Thomas, laminitis and CEO of Maed successful India, a podcast accumulation institution and consultancy. “Each of these shows is reported by stalwart journalists who tin get to the bosom of an issue, prime up connected the need-to-know quality stories of the time and springiness you trustworthy accusation connected the subject.”
To Mae Mariyam ThomasCEO of Maed successful India, the astir important facet of a quality podcast is that it needs to beryllium accessible successful presumption of providing context
Curating divers opinions
At a clip erstwhile implicit objectivity is simply a myth, Gen Z is seeking divers outlooks. “Ours is an informed yet polarised generation,” says Sahil Chugh, 23, an expert based successful Manchester, U.K. “It is important to prosecute with different people’s opinions. Podcasts connection a level to perceive to others’ perspectives and capable clip to recognize the reasoning down their viewpoint.” Bengaluru-based Shreya Mahajan, 23, is of a akin bent of mind. “Forming a well-informed constituent of presumption is 1 of the superior reasons for maine to prosecute with quality podcasts. It does not mean mimicking the podcaster’s POV, but deciding for myself whether I hold with their bid of thought oregon not,” states the analyst.
For others, podcasts are a reprieve from the large and often biased reporting that’s seen successful the mainstream — and an effectual and enjoyable mode to devour information. “Unlike the overwhelming barrage of accepted TV news, podcasts let maine to digest contented astatine my ain pace, and make a consciousness of intimacy and relatability that accepted quality lacks,” shares Meghna Rai, 22, an technologist based successful Mumbai.
Ideal length
“For us, superior depletion happens during ‘peak commute’ hours, which are fundamentally 8.30 a.m. to 11 a.m., and successful the evening, from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m.,” says Bhuvanesh R., who produces Zerodha’s podcast The Daily Brief. What the perfect magnitude of a podcast is remains debatable. Thomas feels it depends connected “the benignant of stories they’re covering and however they’re covering it. Usually, the saccharine spot for a regular amusement would beryllium astir 20 minutes”. But for Abhinav Sinha, a 22-year-old Bengaluru-based consultant, clip doesn’t matter. “I don’t person to perceive to a podcast from timestamp zero to the end,” helium says. “I often skip to the portion I americium funny successful oregon intermission it to resume later.” Mahajan echoes this sentiment. “I usually perceive to podcasts portion commuting oregon going astir my regular routine. I wouldn’t accidental there’s an perfect magnitude for me.”
Abhinav Sinha doesn’t perceive to a podcast from timestamp zero to the end
A dilatory shift
Podcasts connection assorted styles of storytelling, from interviews and monologues to roundtables oregon panels. “Media houses are looking astatine podcasts arsenic a caller signifier of media. I don’t deliberation determination is simply a peculiar benignant that works better. The astir important facet of a quality [podcast] is that it needs to beryllium accessible successful presumption of providing context, narrated successful a mode and gait that 1 tin sorb and beryllium wide successful its communication,” says Thomas of Maed successful India. “I’m a immense instrumentality of podcasts wherever in-house experts and journalists speech astir subjects of nationalist and planetary interest. I consciousness similar I get the accidental to really perceive the journalists speaking to me, articulating their cognition of a taxable they cognize truthful well. It’s not the aforesaid erstwhile you’re speechmaking a newspaper.”
While podcasting is decidedly seeping into journalism, with galore bequest newspapers and quality organisations starting aggregate podcasts, the displacement is inactive slow. “[One] indispensable recognize that determination is simply a conception of radical who person ne'er heard a podcast. So, accepted media outlets volition gravitate towards podcasting erstwhile a cumulative planetary assemblage is absorbed into the podcasting world,” shares Karishma Mehta, laminitis and CEO of Humans of Bombay and the big of Realign – The Podcast.
Karishma Mehta, laminitis and CEO of Humans of Bombay, hosts Realign – The Podcast
Audio versus video
In March 2025, a survey by podcast hosting level Transistor recovered that 76% of Gen Z podcast listeners globally chiefly consumed audio-only content. As vodcasts picked up, however, trends started to alteration overnight. In August, a 2nd survey unsurprisingly showed the visually-forward demographic turning from Spotify (down from 56% successful March to 35% successful August) to YouTube (46%).
According to podcasters, the video format, which has users from each demographics now, has its advantages. “For anyone starting fresh, video podcasts look much sensible, particularly if you don’t person an established community,” says Lodha of Having Said That. “I deliberation audio podcasts are cool, but they lone enactment if you person a ample assemblage already. Since YouTube is the biggest organisation web and the 2nd largest hunt motor successful the world, video-based podcasts volition person a amended scope for idiosyncratic starting new.” Today, galore podcasters movie their interviews, panels, and storytelling-driven shows, blurring the enactment betwixt watching and listening to the news.
Where’s the money?
Given its recency (only 12% of the colonisation engages with podcasts close now, states a 2024 study by UNPAC Research), the scope of monetisation of podcasts is inactive constricted successful India. “Podcasting is [still] a curiosity astatine this constituent — some for radical who are making and consuming it,” says Bhuvanesh, who produces brokerage level Zerodha’s podcast The Daily Brief. “But for niche advertisers, similar D2C brands oregon startups with focused products, it makes consciousness to run successful the podcasting abstraction for ads. It’ll alteration arsenic the media matures and the listener basal expands.”
Aditya Lodha, co-host of Having Said That on Spotify
Podcast monetisation successful India is mostly ad-driven, reflecting the country’s penchant for free, ad-supported integer content, states marketplace probe steadfast Astute Analytica. Host-read ads, marque mentions, and abbreviated sponsor spots consciousness earthy to listeners accustomed to akin formats connected TV and streaming. Syndicating a podcast to YouTube tin output an further root of revenue. This includes advertizing revenue, transmission rank revenue, and YouTube Premium gross (wherein 1 gets a information of the subscription fee).
“Six months in, I was retired of money. But past idiosyncratic from Pursue, an alcoholic beverage brand, and Blue Tokai, a fashionable Indian speciality java brand, approached us. And some brands person been our sponsors,” says Aditya Lodha, laminitis and co-host of Having Said That on Spotify, describing the monetisation travel of his show. “Obviously, with journalism, it’s a spot much tricky due to the fact that you are treading connected harsher waters. But, I deliberation each companies are getting connected the question due to the fact that they realise that podcasts connection a extent that nary different mean can.”
The autarkic writer is based successful Bengaluru
