Podcast strategy in public media
The study focuses on the analysis of the use of a new communication channel - podcast - in the public media environment. Specifically, it compares the concept of podcasting in public media in Slovakia (Radio and Television of Slovakia) and public media in the Czech Republic (Czech Television and Czech Radio). In addition, the study analyzes the podcasting strategy of the mentioned media for the future, as well as the perception and perspective of podcasts as such in the coming years. The collection of the necessary data was obtained in the form of semi-structured interviews, in its processing were used mainly methods such as analytical comparison, generalization, induction, and deduction.
Keywords: podcast, public media, television, broadcast, strategy, service on demand
Introduction
Advancing digitization, increasing Internet coverage, change in the habits of listeners or viewers to consume media content, the coming new generation that receives media content in a completely different way than standard channels - all of the mentioned above force traditional media to innovate and think about new distribution channels. It is no exception that in the traditional media new unions or sections are emerging, of the so-called "New media", which analyze the current situation and come up with new strategies on how to reach viewers, listeners, or how to attract a new target group with their programs. New media sections include communication through websites and social networks in their strategies, they even sometimes create complex online platforms. The new media also includes strategies for deploying podcasts and distributing them through special online channels created specifically for them. The ever-increasing popularity of podcast platforms forces the media to consider how best and most effectively to support this new communication phenomenon and use it to their advantage - whether in terms of expanding the reach of various, especially young target groups, or as a tool for self-communication or even marketing strategy. Media of all types are responding to the coming boom of podcasting – printed media within their online platforms, as well as radio, television, and online portals. The rise of podcasts affects the media regardless of their owner. Podcasts appear in both commercial and public media. Public service media are very often perceived as representing a more traditional, perhaps more conservative, style of broadcasting. That is why several questions arise in connection with public media and podcasting. When and how did these media react to the coming wave of podcasts? Why did they decide to produce podcasts? Do they produce podcasts of already broadcasted media or do they create their own podcasts that are not primarily intended for broadcast? What is their current podcast deployment strategy and what are they preparing for the future? How do they estimate the development or expansion of podcasts in the coming years? All of these questions are addressed by the authors of this study. Their goal was to map the current situation, as well as the vision of the development of podcast production in public media in Slovakia, specifically in RTVS (Radio and Television of Slovakia). Their ambition was also to compare the situation in the public media in Slovakia with the current situation in the podcast production of public media (Czech Television, Czech Radio) in the neighboring Czech Republic. They chose these two countries for comparison because the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic are still very close, united by a common history and long-term operation as one country. They are also still linguistically close. It is common for Slovak citizens to listen, also via the Internet, to Czech programs, and vice versa. In addition, with the division of Czechoslovakia into two separate countries, it may have seemed that our starting positions were approximately the same, and thus that we would make the same progress in the field of media. But is it so? Based on these shared contexts, a comparison of both cultures or environments can bring interesting findings. In the presented study, the authors use semi-structured interviews to obtain study material and methods: analysis, synthesis, comparison, and generalization to process theoretical knowledge and empirical findings.
1 Theoretical background
The term public (...) refers primarily to the organizational and legal form of the institution. In particular, as an adjective, it represents the essence of the transformation of the former state radio and television in the new socio-political conditions after November 1989. The content of public service broadcasting is better expressed by the English term "public service" (public service or service for the public). Public service broadcasting is thus a non-state, state-independent broadcasting, oriented to the needs and interests of the public, which is responsible both to the institutional structures of civil society and to individual viewers and listeners. (Sečík 2008: 21-22) So if we are talking about public media, we are talking about their organizational and legal form, the opposite of which is private law, respectively, a private company. In the environment of the Slovak Republic, the private media are the organizational and legal counterpart of public service media. (Sámelová 2020: 41)
An analysis of the meaning and attributes of the term public service has shown that most analyzes contain three basic attributes:
- public utility - a service provided to the public usually by the state (eg post office, road construction, railway operation), their basic feature is their universal availability and quality standard,
- broadcasting in the service of the public sphere - in this case, public space is understood as a space where members of the public become citizens who decide collectively on matters of common interest; public service media should provide them with access to information and knowledge that will enable an individual to participate in public life,
- broadcasting in the service (in the interest) of listeners and viewers - is based on the assumption that terms audience and meaning are the same (auditorium), while the audience is considered to be a summary of individual consumers of media content. In this sense, broadcasting is no longer understood as satisfying collective needs, but as covering individual interests (Šmíd 2004: 64).
The first mentions of the issue of public law in terms of its content and functioning appear in Slovakia in 1991 in connection with the creation of Act no. 254/1991 Coll. about Slovak Television, which also introduced the term public institution into the legal system of the Slovak Republic (SR). It was to highlight its exceptional position in the process of newly emerging organizations and institutions. At the same time, it was to represent the political will to transform state television into an independent medium that would meet the needs and interests of the public (Botík, Jánošová, Jenča 2012: 13). Also in 1991, the SNR adopted Act no. 255/1991 Coll., On the basis of which Slovak Radio was established as a public radio institution for Slovakia (Act of the Slovak National Council on Slovak Radio 255/1991, https://www.slov-lex.sk/pravne-predpisy/SK/ZZ/1991/255/19910701.html). The merger of Slovak Television and Slovak Radio took place on January 1, 2011, as of this date they operate as one institution - RTVS - Radio and Television of Slovakia (RTVS). This legislative change is regulated by the Act of 2010 on Radio and Television of Slovakia. It defines RTVS as a public, national, independent, informational, cultural and educational institution that provides a service to the public in the field of radio broadcasting and television broadcasting. The RTVS program service consists of: news, journalistic, documentary, dramatic, musical, sports, entertainment, educational programs, programs for children and youth, other programs (RTVS website, Mission of the program service, https://www.rtvs.org/o-rtvs/poslanie-programovej-sluzby-rtvs).
In 1991, after the adoption of the federal law, which divided the competence of the Czech and Slovak federations, the Czech and Slovak Republics in the media field, the Czech legislators decided to proceed differently from the Slovak ones in establishing radio and television broadcasters. According to the founding laws, Czech Radio and Czech Television are "providers of public service" who are not responsible for the obligations of the state, just as the state is not responsible for the obligations of these providers. The law does not even refer to them as "national", "public" or "public" broadcasters, it focuses exclusively on the provision of public service and its precise specification. Even other media legislation of the Czech Republic (ČR) does not give Czech Radio and Czech Television any organizational-institutional attribute related to their public status; it refers to them as "broadcasters- broadcasting by law". Despite the points mentioned, we still consider and refer to both public Czech broadcasters as providers of public service, because their program mission corresponds to the public service. (Sámelová 2020: 44-45) Therefore, Czech Television, similarly to Slovak Television (RTVS) in the Slovak Republic, provides a service to the public throughout the Czech Republic by creating and distributing television programs, or other multimedia content and additional services to fulfill democratic, social and cultural needs of society and the need to preserve media pluralism (Czech Television website, Czech Television Statute, https://img.ceskatelevize.cz/boss/image/contents/statut-ct/pdf/statut-ct.pdf?verze=2020-01-06.1&_ga=2.15359478.1199533626.1633029257-561087460.1633029256). In terms of its status, Czech Radio is also a national cultural institution of special importance, which provides a public service by creating and distributing radio programs, or other multimedia content and additional services throughout the Czech Republic and abroad, both analogously and digitally (Czech Radio website, Czech Radio Statute, https://rada.rozhlas.cz/statut-ceskeho-rozhlasu-7722273).
Since its formation, public service media in both the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic have undergone their development. An essential part of their progress is constant innovation and reactions to upcoming trends, including new media, new formats as well as podcasts.
2 Podcasting in a public service broadcasting environment
Public radio and television broadcasting in Slovakia has been operating under the corporation RTVS (Slovak Radio and Television) since 2011 when RTVS was established by merging Slovak Television and Slovak Radio. We describe the current state of podcasting in RTVS based on an interview with Dušan Jančovič, who is the director of the New Media Section. It covers radio and television as a whole and its section is responsible for all websites, mobile applications, social networks, and podcasts. We also relied on the analysis of information on websites, platforms, as well as analysis of individual podcasts. In 2013, RTVS announced the establishment of the "New Media" department as a separate part of the Marketing and Communication section. The main task of the "New Media" department is the creation of RTVS websites, applications, and specifications of the vision, form, and direction of digital online content. The new media coordinate the processing of audio archives, TV archives, and the implementation of live broadcasts (RTVS also redesigned the corporate website, websites are already being addressed by the new media section, https://medialne.trend.sk/televizia/rtvs-redizajnoval-aj-korporatnu-stranku-weby-riesi-sekcia-novych-medii). The head of the "New Media" section is the already mentioned Dušan Jančovič, according to which the section began to develop fully only after the arrival of Jaroslav Rezník to the position of General Director of RTVS in 2017 (Interview, Dušan Jančovič, 8.9.2021). It currently covers the points mentioned above for radio and television as a whole and its content is mainly focused on the development and update of RTVS websites, the development of mobile applications, the management of social networks, and podcasts.
Although the first podcasts in Slovak Radio (RTVS Slovak Radio Program Services Section) were already ... a turning point for RTVS didn’t come until 2019. In the first half of the year, RTVS focused on its first strategy for deploying podcasts in terms of content, technology, and personnel, and in the second half began publishing podcasts on distribution platforms. “We've found out that people’s interest in new technologies and podcasts is increasing. RTVS has a lot of quality content that people can't always reach. Many listeners register only Radio Slovakia, while Slovak Radio has 11 program services. That is why we wanted to make our content available in the form of podcasts to everyone who likes to use new technologies,” says Dušan Jančovič (Interview, Dušan, Jančovič, 8.9. 2021). The shows that had the most listeners in the web archive began to be processed into a podcast form. Specifically, the shows Saturday Dialogues (political discussion session), Night Pyramid (evening session, moderator's interview with an interesting guest), First Hand (noon session, discussion mostly by politicians, analysts on current topics), Morning on FM (guest program, sections, competitions, music), On the way FM (show about travel, adventure, and exotics), Pena dní FM (Foam of daysFM) (talk show about ordinary but also unusual things with an interesting guest), all shows within Radio Slovakia International – one podcast was processed from each language variation. Today, RTVS offers 54 podcasts in categories of news and journalism, sports, leisure, health, entertainment, art and culture, history, travel, economics, business. “We are constantly expanding the offer of podcasts, there is someone every week, whether the author or the moderator of the show, who would like to put their program into the form of a podcast. We need to guide and regulate them because not everything is suitable as a podcast. We always have to think about our target audience and what it's supposed to bring. There are thousands of shows on the podcast market today, if we want to be interesting, we have to be brought something different, we need to bring new or interesting topics” (Interview, Dušan, Jančovič, 8.9. 2021) All podcasts are specially processed, music is edited, introductory and closing sounds are added, then the podcasts are distributed to channels, in the case of radio podcasts there are four in particular - Google Podcasts, Spotify, Apple podcasts and Deezer. In terms of personnel, this is ensured by a smaller production team of four people.
RTVS wants to continue producing podcasts as part of its radio production. They do not rule out the possibility of creating podcasts that would be primarily produced for podcast applications. The vision is to start such production in 2022. In the first stage, their priority was the web and mobile applications. They want to launch a mobile application in a short time. They plan to create a large online platform that would allow people to download podcasts directly. According to Dušan Jančovič, a comprehensive and complex strategy of deploying or producing podcasts in RTVS is still being worked on. “It is a platform that is important to us and we definitely want to focus on it in the future when there will be human and especially financial capacity, it will not be possible without it” (Interview, Dušan, Jančovič, 8.9. 2021).
2.1 Podcasts on Czech Radio
Czech public radio, unlike public radio in Slovakia, operates separately from Czech Television. As an independent institution, it has a rich history of audio production in the online environment. It started in 1998 when Czech Radio offered the first internet broadcast. It was followed by the first steps in the production and publishing of audio content on demand. In 2004, it became a pioneer in the on-demand audio offer, a promoter of podcasts and during the podcast boom, in 2019, it began to support listening and podcasting in the Czech Republic as well as cultivate the Czech podcast environment. Today, Czech Radio produces more than 420 podcasts, on a daily, weekly, monthly, or serial basis. It is the largest producer of podcasts in the Czech Republic. With its podcasts, it addresses various target groups aged between 18 to 80. They produce various podcast genres – from news, journalistic formats, through documentaries, entertainment, talk shows, literary-dramatic or educational formats. Iva Jonášová is responsible for the development and strategy of podcasts on Czech Radio. She started implementing the podcast strategy in 2018 as the editor-in-chief of Radio Wave, which is a Czech Radio station intended primarily for young listeners. After three years of experience, Czech Radio created the section of Digital Audio Content Development, which is responsible for the dissemination of digital content strategy and podcasts on all Czech Radio stations.
Czech Radio started podcasts much earlier than during the podcast boom in the Czech Republic in 2017. This can be considered a visionary act by Czech Radio. “It was already in 2004, when the so-called "Radio na želanie (Radio on demand)", at Czech Radio 6, was created. This was the first time on the Czech Internet that listeners could create their own playlist of shows, so they could only listen to those programs that interested them. In the same year, the "iRadio" application was added, offering online broadcasts of individual stations. Later, "eRadio" and "Radio na želanie (Radio on demand)" were merged into one, on the Czech Radio web service. In 2005, Czech Radio also began offering audio content through the iTunes podcast application (later Apple Podcasts)” (Interview, Iva Jonášová, 15.9.2021) Since 2017, internal discussions on the definition of podcasts and podcast strategy have started on Czech Radio. In the same year, the first podcast series of Czech Radio "Zhasni (Turn off the lights)", produced by Radio Wave, began broadcasting. Subsequently, a lot of time was spent distributing shows to podcast channels, after iTunes (2005) it was Google Podcasts (2018) and Spotify (2019). Previously, the content of podcasts was published only on the websites of Czech Radio. “Another important milestone was December 2019, when we launched the audio portal mujRozhlas.cz and its application offering the largest audio selection in the Czech Republic. On the occasion of the launch of mujRozhlas, several new on-demand formats were published. It was also around this time when an internal podcast group was formed, which dealt with podcast topics, search for creators, and the development of new podcast formats” (Interview, Iva Jonášová, 15.9.2021) In 2019, Czech Radio launched the first regular news podcast Vinohradská 12, which was not originally formatted for broadcast, but only for an on-demand environment. It is currently broadcasted on Czech Radio Plus and has become the most-streamed podcast on Czech Radio. Subsequently, podcasts of various genres and formats were added. “In 2019, we started publishing various podcast series on Radio Wave, which were not primarily created for broadcasting, but on-demand listening. We mostly placed them in the broadcast as short promotional demonstrations, in 5 to 7 minutes’ format, based on which we refer people to listening on demand” (Interview, Iva Jonášová, 15.9.2021) Among the formats that were primarily created for demand consumption, Czech Radio includes 12 radio detective games Stopár (Hitchhiker), which Czech Radio publishes on the web and in the My Radio application, that are based on interactivity. The first feature podcast series of Radio Wave Skúšková (Examination) is intended for a young audience, it deals with relationships, studies, and work at school. Another series Unrest is the first podcast series in the genre of horror and psychothriller. The Digital Writer podcast is thematically dedicated to artificial intelligence. Specifically, these are short stories that were not written by writers but were created through artificial intelligence. Another very popular podcast is the series Sádlo (Fat), which is about women struggling with being overweight and the acceptance of their own bodies. The series is complemented by interviews with therapists, psychologists, and other experts. Iva Jonášová emphasizes: “We also started to address a younger target group; teenagers aged 12 to 15. It is a group that is beginning to receive media information, which is why the educational podcast series called Filter talks about how the media works, what the headlines look like, what are fake news and how to verify the information. We invited one of the prominent Czech YouTubers Lukefry to collaborate, which contributes to the format being entertaining and easy to accept for children” (Interview, Iva Jonášová, 15.9.2021). Podcasts are produced mainly by the Production department and at individual stations that benefit, for on-demand content, from linear broadcasts, or they are created by teams from off-station podcast series. The digital audio content development department is mainly dedicated to supporting all stations, methodologies, and digital thinking (Think Digital) of playwrights, authors, brand managers, and other people who work with content in the online environment to create the best competitive content possible. “Distribution, analytics, and trends in the on-demand consumption of digital formats are handled by a large department of new media, which, among other things, creates an environment supporting podcasts availability. Specifically, they take care of the My Radio application, radio websites, or their distribution to podcast platforms” (Interview, Iva Jonášová, 15.9.2021).
At present, Czech Radio does not plan to significantly expand the production of podcasts. Some podcasts will naturally disappear, others will arise. In March of this year, Czech Radio reached a record number of on-demand launches per month - more than 4.7 million unique audio launches. That is why they consider the digital environment to be extremely promising. While the linear, i.e. classic, radio market is stable, we perceive the digital environment as ever-growing. Here we still see a space for reaching new listeners. We want to be constantly innovative, technologically advanced so that we can address new audiences and respond to changes in the consumption of existing audiences. That is why we prepared the final version of the digital audio content strategy during April-May this year.
3 Podcasting in a public television environment
Compared to podcasts on RTVS radio, the television component of RTVS (STV Program Services Section) is less prosperous. According to Dušan Jančovič, head of the New Media section, podcast production on television is rather marginal. "There is relatively little podcast content on television. We had to choose from our entire portfolio of sessions. There cannot be music or video previews, once you have a lot of them, the podcast listener can get lost. So it’s mostly discussion sessions. This was the main thing we had to take into account and, based on that, determine which sessions will be interesting, even from the auditory online processing point of view." (Interview, Dusan Jančovič, 8.9.2021) The first session, which was transformed into a podcast form, was a discussion Dinner with Havran (moderator Michal Havran invites experts and guests from various fields to talk about social phenomena and current events in Slovakia). “Our shows often do not have a very high audience, because they address more serious topics, as well as various specifics or problems that may not affect everyone. As a public television, we also have to provide such shows. Therefore, we wanted to offer their content through another platform in order to reach more people” (Interview, Dusan Jančovič, September 8, 2021) As part of the television broadcast, RTVS currently offers three more programs in podcast form. VaT - Science and Technology (a magazine about science and technology with moderator Gregor Mareš), About sport (sports discussion on current topics with interesting guests). And the last show that was added as a podcast is "Silná zostava (A strong grouping)", where the female cast talks about weak points in society on a weekly basis, as well as about topics that are often considered taboo). “We are currently preparing another podcast that should go out. However, it is not yet in the final stage, so I would not specify it further” (Interview, Dusan Jančovič, 8.9.2021).
The same applies to the strategy of further distribution of podcasts created by RTVS television formats as to RTVS radio broadcasting. According to Dušan Jančovič, it will be about priorities. And these currently include the web and the upcoming RTVS mobile applications.
3.1 Podcasts on Czech Television
Czech Television is considered to be an "old" medium, although viewership data do not confirm such statement, says Denisa Kollárová, Marketing Director of Czech Television. That is why it is a great topic for Czech Television to constantly look for innovations, to be the engine of innovative projects. “The trend of consuming content produced by TV houses requires a change in the perception of content distribution, and this change may be the new media platforms,” says Denisa Kollárová, who spent four years before taking up the position of Marketing Director at Czech Television, working for the new media department. (Interview, Denisa Kollárová, 1.9.2021) At present, in addition to creating media strategies, brand support, and viewership of individual formats, her team also covers experimentation with new ways of how to reach younger target groups. “As part of marketing, we have created a special unit called non-linear self-promotion and innovation. This team is basically looking for new ways to get closer to younger target groups, mainly the 15-18 age group, and then the 20-25 age group. This team came up with the idea that we should start to systematically focus on podcasts, not only in distribution but also in marketing. The team currently consists of 6 internal and 7 external collaborators” (Interview, Denisa Kollárová, 1.9.2021).
Podcast production was started by Czech Television 4 years ago, it created shows regarding news and sports. “I would divide the use of the online environment into two areas. The first is an area that aims to increase the reach of the public service by transferring television formats that have the potential to do so, i.e are based mainly on interviews or information, to podcasts. The second area, which we have been working on intensively for 2 years, is podcasts, which have a different purpose than distributing content intended for broadcast. We currently have 3 or 4 of these podcasts and we are experimenting with them” (Interview, Denisa Kollárová, 1.9. 2021) Czech Television currently offers podcasts that are taken from their broadcast. The sports editorial team is currently experimenting with broadcast commentary on football, this show also functions as a specific football podcast. For podcasts that were not primarily intended for broadcast, they experimented with a new travel podcast created for the Wandering Camera show. Authentic podcasts are also created within the ČT art website, where the authors process parts of programs into podcasts that did not fit into the television broadcast. “Another novelty is the Kavka podcast, which is a purely marketing tool that serves to acquaint the viewer and the listener with what Czech Television does. At the same time, it is a space for communication on topics that we have nowhere else to place, such as: what is the role of public service media or what does it mean that Czech Television is a co-producer of Czech films” (Interview, Denisa Kollárová, 1.9.2021) Czech Television started to distribute podcast “Kavky” earlier this year on a regular 14-day basis.
Denisa Kollárová also sees podcasts as an important marketing tool. As the audio and podcast market grows, so do the opportunities to easily listen to this type of content. At the same time, the popularity of podcasts is growing, especially among the city's population, but also among the population that comes to the city for work. Through podcasts, it is possible to establish further relationships with the target group, which does not have time to watch broadcasts in linear times. It is therefore a response to a change in lifestyle and the advancing digitization of society. In addition, she also emphasizes the economic benefits of podcasting. When they create content that is part of regular contact with the target group, they reformat this podcast during the campaign phase and use it differently. This way, they can tactically use this tool, during campaigns, several times (Interview, Denisa Kollárová, 1.9.2021).
Czech Television is currently undergoing a major transformation in the area of digital strategy. Part of the discussion is also to what extent it is necessary to concentrate on an audio form of television production. Denisa Kollárová says “I believe that the incremental benefits of the audio market can be something that will help finance the still complex financing of public media. There is certainly an opportunity, as we currently publish books, to work with the audiobook format in the future. But it will mainly be a question of priorities. Personally, I will stand by the importance of working with audio content even more strategically” (Interview, Denisa Kollárová, 1.9. 2021).
4 Conclusion
If we were to evaluate the situation in connection to podcast production in the Slovak Republic and the Czech Republic very simply and in one word, it could be said that it is different. This difference is visible at a first glance simply by looking at the number of podcasts produced. RTVS - Radio currently produces 54 podcasts on a daily, weekly, monthly basis, Czech Radio is one of the largest producers of podcasts in the Czech Republic with more than 420 on a daily, weekly, monthly or occasional basis. RTVS - Television offers viewers 4 podcasts transformed from its programs, Czech Television offers more than 13 podcasts, of which taken from the broadcast are 10, own podcasts are 3. The difference stems from two basic factors: market size and the start of podcast production. Although the Czech Republic has a double market of listeners or viewers, the numbers of podcast production are well above the 2:1 ratio. All public institutions began to focus on podcasts more systematically during their boom, i.e in the period from 2017 to 2019. Czech Radio experimented the most, launching some programs based on the podcast philosophy as early as 2004. However, there is a more significant difference between the two countries and that is in the strategy. While RTVS approaches this topic more or less intuitively and openly admits that so far, the further development of podcasts is a matter of priorities, the Czech side perceives the situation differently. The deployment of podcasts, their use, as well as reflections on their perspective in the coming years is perceived more systematically. It continuously works on the preparation of strategies and is better equipped in terms of staff, specialized teams that deal with the topic of audio production, and its support on a daily basis.
In our opinion, there are several reasons for this condition. However, two of them are probably more significant. The first is the starting position of the Czech and Slovak public service media. Here we offer an explanation based on our individual experience, as we have worked directly in the public media of the Slovak Republic for many years. However, we do not dare to say that our evaluation is absolute. After the division of the Czech-Slovak Federal Republic, it was assumed that the starting position of both countries was the same. However, Czech Television and Czech Radio were built for many years as the main media of the common state. They were well funded and staffed. Within the federation, Slovak media institutions were only a supplement to federal broadcasting and were built practically only as regional institutions. In this context, the formats of the sessions, which were produced in both, now separate countries, also looked different. So, the starting position after the separation was much worse for Slovak Television, and despite the 30 years, this difference is difficult to catch up on, partly due to being undersized financially. The second reason is the already mentioned financial side. Public institutions in Slovakia and the Czech Republic have the same obligation as a broadcaster in the public service. The broadcasting part is the same in both countries to the extent of 24/7, but the financial coverage for the operation of individual institutions is significantly different, the Slovak institution is still financially undervalued. This is also reflected in the technological and personnel under dimensioning of the said section.
A very interesting aspect of our research was how the respondents perceived the perspective of podcasts as a specific auditory format and how they consider their use, not only to address viewers or listeners but also to use this new channel for marketing purposes. They evaluate the perspective of their development positively, albeit realistically. Dušan Jančovič from RTVS states: “I think about whether podcasts just" hit "the generation of people who are not raised on social networks, or it is a trend - as people age, grow up, they also focus more on podcasts. In any case, I think that podcasts will definitely not be lost, there are still many years and space for them to develop and bring new things” (Interview, Dusan Jančovič, 8.9.2021). On the other hand, Iva Jonášová from Czech Radio admits that the podcast market may fill up over time. “We may have to deal not always being in a permanent podcast boom. Therefore, we monitor and try to predict the behavior and habits of listeners and respond accordingly. In any case, as Czech Radio, we will produce quality audio content for various target groups in various genres and we will look for ways to distribute it to listeners, whether in linear broadcasts or as on-demand” (Interview, Iva Jonášová, 15.9.2021).
Denisa Kollárová from Czech Television considers herself to be a great podcast enthusiast. “I think that the podcast as a form of communication has finally reaped the harvest after years of gaining a foothold in the market. It may have taken a little longer, but people finally understand the options podcast brings. I anticipate that the market will somehow consolidate in the future, as podcasts are produced by anyone today. But this inconspicuous and relatively inexpensive format can be a great help, and therefore I assume its further development, at least in the next 5 to 10 years” (Interview, Denisa Kollárová, 1.9.2021).
This is the right place to raise the question of how and whether the media will be able to make full use of the new communication format and its potential. This study also provides some interesting inspirations. Podcast media production can appeal to a new target group, as well as a group of young people who already watch traditional media significantly less. A quality podcast can be an excellent educational tool, e.g. how it is used by Czech Radio in the case of educating young people on the topic of media education. But a podcast can also be used to promote a brand and content of a medium as well as serve as a marketing tool, as used by Czech television, for example. Therefore, we believe that the development and retention of podcasts in the media market will also depend on the degree of creativity and real use of podcasts by the media for purposes that contribute to the development and advancement of their own media.
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The scholar text was elaborated within a national research project supported by the Grant Agency of the Ministry of Education, Science, Research and Sport of the Slovak Republic and the Slovak Academy of Sciences (VEGA) No. 1/0283/20, titled ‘Synergy of the Media Industry Segments in the Context of Critical Political Economy of Media’.
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References
Act of the Slovak National Council on Radio and Television of Slovakia 532/2010 Z.z. o RTVS https://www.zakonypreludi.sk/zz/2010-532
Act of the Slovak National Council on Slovak Radio 255/1991, URL https://www.slov-lex.sk/pravne-predpisy/SK/ZZ/1991/255/19910701.html
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Czech Radio website, Czech Radio Statute. URL https://rada.rozhlas.cz/statut-ceskeho-rozhlasu-7722273
Czech Television website, Czech Television Statute. URL https://img.ceskatelevize.cz/boss/image/contents/statut-ct/pdf/statut-ct.pdf?verze=2020-01-06.1&_ga=2.15359478.1199533626.1633029257-561087460.1633029256
Interview, Denisa Kollárová, Marketing Director at Czech Television, 1.9.2021
Interview, Dušan Jančovič, Director of the New Media section, podcast production on television is rather marginal, 8.9.2021
Interview, Iva Jonášová, Head of Section of Digital Audio Content Development, Czech Radio, 15.9.2021
RTVS also redesigned the corporate website, websites are already being addressed by the new media section. URL https://medialne.trend.sk/televizia/rtvs-redizajnoval-aj-korporatnu-stranku-weby-riesi-sekcia-novych-medii
Sámelová A. Dejiny verejnoprávnosti, Univerzita Komenského v Bratislave, Bratislava, 2020 ISBN 978-80-223-4816-4.
Sečík I. Význam verejnoprávnych médií v politickom a kultúrnom systéme spoločnosti, Studia politica Slovaca, 2008, pp. 21-22, URL https://www.sav.sk/journals/uploads/04031256SPS_1_2008_I %20Secik.pdf
Šmíd M. Veřejnoprávní a soukromné televize v některých evropských zemích, Parlamentní institut, 2004, (online), s.64, dostupné na: http://www.louc.cz/pril01/p144vvseu.pdf
RTVS website, Mission of the program service, available at: https://www.rtvs.org/o-rtvs/poslanie-programovej-sluzby-rtvs