Last Wednesday January 21, multiple news outlets, from Rolling Stone to The Washington Post, jumped on the latest update in the Serial storyline. “Key ‘Serial’ Witness Writes New Affidavit Supporting Adnan Syed” is not the latest plot twist offered by Serial creator Sarah Koenig. It’s a continuation of the “real-life” legal drama that has entangled millions after Serial‘s 12-episode series. Serial, launched on NPR, has single handedly revived my hope in radio.
I’m sure it comes as no surprise, traditional radio (AM/FM) is on the decline. Albeit a slow decline, it’s there and it’s real.
Nielsen’s latest Total Audience Report (December 2014), shows time spent on radio down from 2:51 (hours:minutes) in 2012 to 2:44 in 2013. Additionally, the industry has been tracking radio’s decline amongst millennials (reports as early as 2008) and that story is even worst.
Average Time Spent Per Adult 18+ Per Day — Nielsen’s Total Audience Report (12/2014)
Despite this growing dissatisfaction with traditional radio, time spent listening to online radio and podcasts have been on the rise since 2008. In 2014, time spent per week listening to online radio totaled 13:19 and beat out traditional radio at 12:26. And podcasts are also reaching new heights – 39 million people have listened to one in the past month. While traditional radio flounders, the podcast space has found it’s breakout hit. Serial is the fastest podcast ever to reach 5 million downloads.
And, the impressive numbers don’t stop there….
- Total downloads = 40 million (as of 12/14)
- Average # of downloads for each episode = 3.4 million (as of 12/14)
Serial ignited the sleuth in all of us. But what makes us infatuate with this series? What makes us discuss this with friends and family? What makes us click through every news headline, wait longingly on updates of Syed’s appeal? And even scarier, what makes us harass and disrupt the real lives of these characters? (Check out Jay From ‘Serial’ Chastises Reddit and Sarah Koenig)
Yes, it has all the trappings of an excellent crime novel – sex, murder, love-crazed teenagers and intriguing characters both reliable and unreliable – plus the added bonus of being the best reality show ever produced. But above all, the storytelling is dynamic.
What’s next for this space? Will this spawn more stories told via headphones instead of screens? Could we see a resurgence of original programming back on the radio? (Check radio’s history and the epic The War of the Worlds) After all, it’s cheaper and easier than producing video.
