Years ago, I thought podcasts were sort of nerdy, for people older than me. Rarely did I hear of people my age who listened to podcasts. However, in the past few years in college, podcasts have grown immensely into the mainstream.
There are many reasons why I think podcasts have become quite popular. Part of it is that celebrities, professional athletes, and other notable people in the media or other areas have decided to promote their brand further and diversify through social media. With the explosion of social media, many have sought outlets to show their personality and possibly monetize these things through advertisements.
Podcasts have become a medium where personality is shown unlike what one sees on TV. On TV, famous people have to filter themselves and act "professionally" to protect their public image. There are also FCC regulations in the US on what you can and cannot say/show on TV. With podcasts being unlike TV in the sense that you have to download them in order to listen, there are no stringent regulations on what can and cannot be said. This allows for podcasters to be able to curse and basically say whatever they want without formal consequences. Many seem to love unfiltered banter, as it is funnier and real instead of "prim and proper" tailored behavior on TV, which becomes bland.
For example, my favorite podcast, "Spittin Chiclets", a hockey podcast from Barstool Sports that features former NHLers Ryan Whitney and Paul Bissonnette exemplifies this completely. Whit and Biz, as they are known, curse and tell funny, inappropriate stories that would not be allowed on a TV show. They are able to provide something in the hockey media world that the NHL shows on TV are not able to give us, since those shows are filtered and the personalities are unable to do what they want since people are telling them what to say/do.
Another reason for the growth of podcasting is the relative easier production compared to making YouTube videos, which has also exploded. The amount of visual editing that many YouTubers have to do to get views is immense and overwhelming. While editing is still quite important in podcasting, one does not have to do as much as you'd have to do as a YouTuber.
Podcasts have grown so much that TV networks and other prominent media companies have noticed and created their own line of pods in order to grow or stabilize revenue streams. NPR and ESPN have several podcasts that are doing quite well and expand on news stories that both are unable to cover in their scheduled slots on radio and TV. I guarantee that podcasts will continue to influence media companies in the years to come whether it be through partnerships or forcing companies to change and adapt.
It is clear that podcasts have exploded in popularity and become an important part of the mainstream media world. Where podcasting goes remains to be seen, but today is a podcasting age.
