Podcasting & Its Impact on the Modern Sports Media Landscape
How Podcasting Has Influenced Athletes & Sports Media - By: Luke Henne
Principles & Evolution/Rise to Popularity
Podcasting wasn’t always as commonplace as it may seem. Even prior to a few years ago (and prior to the Covid-19 pandemic), podcast consumption felt like an obscure hobby. Now, it’s evolved into something that seemingly everyone can participate in, one way or another. How’d it become so popular?
Principles
According to TechTarget, podcasting is defined as “the preparation and distribution of audio files … to the computers of subscribed users. These files may then be uploaded to streaming services, which users can listen to on their smartphones or digital music and multimedia players …” (Lutkevich, 2022).
Evolution/Rise to Popularity
Per Statista, 79% of American adults know what podcasting is, and 82 million listened to podcasts in 2021. This number is expected to rise to 100 million by 2024 (Götting, 2023).
Graph courtesy of Buzzsprout & Statistica
This was something that was accelerated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which forced people all around the globe to operate in a new way.
In a piece published near the beginning of Covid, Burrelles - a media data website - said, “Americans are flocking to podcasts with a newfound excitement and with more of us working remotely in compliance with coronavirus safety protocols, it means more flexibility to listen to what we want before work, at lunch and late into the night. When people are forced to spend more time indoors, they naturally end up spending more time consuming media” (Nolden, 2020).
Simply put, if a person wanted to consume a podcast, they were more likely to because they had much more free time (which, in turn, creates time for prolonged media consumption). These podcasts offered up new at-home ideas, cooking recipes, political advice, sports debates, etc. Essentially, almost anything that any listener could ask for (or publish themselves) became a prevalent podcast topic somewhere, and people began to feel like they had their own niche communities.
Relationship to Athletes & Sports Media
Connection Between Two Parties
One of the most-popular podcast topics, naturally, that comes to mind is sports. It’s commonplace, and it’s something that can be talked about at nearly any given time.
Great things have come from this evolution, particularly in the sports media landscape, and it’s in the numbers. As noted in The Hawk Talk, “Sports podcasts have seen massive growths in popularity due to their ability to produce episodes quickly after sports news and announcements. They offer real and unedited reactions that appeal to opinionated and reactionary sports fans …” (Carew, 2022).
Podcasts give athletes the chance to share their stories, media personalities the chance to go head-to-head, and dialogue to be exchanged. Journalists, for example, now have a chance to tell their print story via a unique multimedia medium. And, as Game Plan notes, “Notable athletes such as NBA player JJ Redick, NFL player Taylor Lewan, and former MLB pitcher CC Sabathia all have their own podcasts. Through podcasting, fans can get to know some of their favorite players in a more personal way” (Mountain, 2021).
Unfortunately, negative things can come from this widespread growth of podcasting in the sports world.
For example, every week, NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers appears on The Pat McAfee Show with Pat McAfee and A.J. Hawk. The star athlete has shared some controversial takes on this platform, and it’s a platform that has grown tremendously in the past few years. Because of Rodgers’ controversial takes (related to politics, Covid, etc.), he’s sharing controversy and potential misinformation with a MASSIVE audience of fans who listen to the podcast. While open dialogue ought to be encouraged, the dissemination of inaccurate information could be harmful to these large listening audiences.
Screenshot courtesy of YouTube. Note the number of viewers and subscribers McAfee has.
Concluding Thoughts
Inevitably, podcasts will continue to grow in popularity. More people have the time and the interest, so it’s going to be an industry that continues to rise and stay prominent.
Both in the sports podcast world and the general podcast world, many good things can come from the melting pot of ideas that becomes present. Open dialogue is something that comes from podcasts. However, there are many red flags as well, such as the spreading of biased and slanted information, and those red flags ought to be paid very close attention at all times. Knowing the source of this information can make all the difference.
Works Cited
Carew, Eamon. “Booming Mics: the Effect of Podcasting on the Sports Media Landscape.” The Hawk Talk, The Hawk Talk, 1 Nov. 2022, https://warhawknews.com/4470/uncategorized/booming-mics-the-effect-of-podcasting-on-the-sports-media-landscape/.
Götting, Marie Charlotte. “U.S. Podcasting Industry - Statistics & Facts.” Statista, Statista, 19 Jan. 2023, https://www.statista.com/topics/3170/podcasting/#topicOverview.
Lutkevich, Ben. “What Is Podcasting and How Does It Work?” Unified Communications, TechTarget, 9 Mar. 2022, https://www.techtarget.com/searchunifiedcommunications/definition/podcasting.
Mountain, Derek. “Why Podcasting Is Driving Sports Media.” Game Plan, Game Plan, 21 Sept. 2021, https://web.northeastern.edu/gameplan/2021/09/21/why-podcasting-is-driving-sports-media/.
Nolden, Craig. “Why Podcasting Has Survived (and Thrived) during COVID-19.” Burrelles, 17 Dec. 2020, https://burrelles.com/why-podcasting-has-survived-and-thrived-during-covid-19/.