Speech radio is more expensive to make than music radio – most broadcasters understand that. Joeri Nortier works for the radio station, BNR Nieuwsradio, in the Netherlands. The station’s main focus is business news.
In the business world, media consumption has grown and people are looking for new news sources. But the advertising market is tough and getting tougher. So where are the opportunities for a station like BNR?
Welcome podcasting! There is a lot of crossover between the podcasting audience and BNR audience. High income, middle-class city-dwellers. 12 months ago BNR saw the opportunity to develop a new podcasting strategy and has done a great job since.
BNR created branded content and did several targeted experiments with investigative journalism. They put together a podcast team with a budget for development and some strategic targets, and even built a brand new podcast studio.
Podcast covered a variety of topics, including medicine, crypto-currency and banking. The results have been great. BNR’s listening figures are growing, on both their own platforms as well as iTunes and elsewhere.
The next steps for BNR include developments in the BNR app. This will help discovery and engagement. Plus BNR would like to experiment with monetisation. Listening numbers provide confidence to management at the company, but financial rewards are needed if BNR is to maintain a sustainable future in podcasting.