Radio does not die on the air: Podcasting and on-demand broadcast strategies among speech-based radio stations

Abstract

In recent decades, speech-based radio stations in Spain, whose programmes have been aimed at the general public, have transformed their on-demand content broadcasting strategy by incorporating audio processes in the form of podcasts, followed by transmission through websites, aggregators and applications. The overall objective of this article is to provide a detailed account of the evolution and scope of the podcast as an on-demand distribution channel for speech-based Spanish radio broadcasters, and to reveal how this format is changing the approaches taken by the most prominent national radio stations [Cadena SER, COPE, Onda Cero, and Radio Nacional de España (RNE)], with special emphasis on prime-time morning shows. The methodology employed combines quantitative and qualitative techniques along with an analysis of the content uploaded to the website of these morning programmes, which are part of the weekly programming cycle, together with semi-structured interviews using closed-ended questions that have been given to the main heads of programming and digital areas of the broadcasters under study. The results show that radio stations have incorporated podcast distribution into their usual routine in order to give new life to the content emitted, with the aim of serving both traditional users as well as new generations of digitised native listeners. In addition, they process daily content in an increasingly systematic way, on the basis of a model of mixed management coordination between programmes and digital areas. Similarly, broadcasters have made considerable progress in the measurement and analysis of the time-shifted audience, as well as in broadcast multiplication techniques using push notifications, social media, and monetisation.