CNN needs to develop its podcast enterprise, bringing new expertise and codecs to the fast-growing audio (and more and more video) enterprise.
However first, it must perform a little rebrand.
CNN is rebranding the division from CNN Audio to CNN Podcasts, recognizing the very fact, effectively, individuals name them podcasts.
“I bear in mind once I first bought into podcasting at Slate Journal, individuals have been saying ‘I hate the phrase podcast, podcast is such a dumb title,’” says Steve Lickteig, the pinnacle of CNN Podcasts in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter. “Nevertheless it’s the title! That’s what we’ve known as it from the start. I did see throughout the trade, locations that have been switching from podcasts to audio, and CNN did the CNN Audio factor again earlier than my time. I believe it was simply form of a pattern of getting away from podcasting. However the truth is, these are podcasts. It’s what the trade and most of the people, extra importantly, calls them.”
“These are self contained exhibits that you simply take heed to on a tool, resembling your cellphone,” he provides. “Audio can imply so many issues, however what we’re attempting to point out is that podcasts are what they initially have been, video however.”
So CNN is doubling down on that unique premise, constructing out its steady of exhibits and codecs, and leaning into expertise that could be underutilized on TV.
“In case you take heed to all of the CNN podcasts, you mainly have a fairly good sense of what’s occurring on this planet,” Lickteig says, ticking off the channel’s slate, which incorporates exhibits led by Anderson Cooper, Audie Cornish, Dr. Sanjay Gupta and others.
However he needs to herald different expertise, and different codecs, to construct out a wider slate.
“There’s a variety of reporters and journalists at CNN that don’t essentially have a tv present, however are doing unbelievable work,” he says. “So one of many issues that we only recently launched was The Account, which is a story anthology present. So we’re going to showcase narrative tales and journalism, audio-first, from numerous reporters over a yr. The newest one was Donie O’Sullivan, his present known as Persuadable, which was about people who’ve form of discovered their approach out of the conspiracy concept rabbit gap. It was a 3 episode run, after which we’ve got one other one arising late summer time, with Omar Jimenez concerning the form of knock on results of this brutal Chicago Police Captain Jon Burge, who was notoriously torturing confessions out of African American males and getting them despatched to jail for crimes they didn’t commit.”
“These are names, however they’re not huge names, and we wish people who know CNN to get to know these people just a little bit deeper,” he provides. “So we’re attempting to create a way of relationships with these very proficient journalists, in order that’s the method and technique going ahead, is to create this concept that CNN is greater than only a place to go for breaking information. It’s that these are individuals who care about their tales and care about telling tales, and we simply need to showcase that.”
He additionally cited Trial By Jury, a podcast that popped as much as cowl the trial of Diddy, with plans to do one other version related to the trial of Luigi Mangione. Lickteig says that it was the brainchild of anchor and analyst Laura Coates, who reached out to him with the idea.
“It felt prefer it matched all of the examine marks that we needed, it’s newsy, there’s a societal affect right here, it’s cultural. It coated all of the bases, and we turned that round and launched that a few days after that,” he says.
One space that CNN is exploring extra gingerly is video podcasts. Exhibits like The Joe Rogan Expertise, Name Her Daddy and New Heights usually have extra viewers on a platform like YouTube than they do in audio apps. CNN is within the house, and can add extra exhibits that make the most of video (“CNN is a video firm and we need to have as a lot video content material on the market as potential for people which can be already followers of CNN,” Lickteig says), however that doesn’t imply that will probably be turning all of its podcasts into video podcasts.
“We’re doubling down on this concept that that is an intimate expertise, that these are issues going into your ears. Even if you’re watching a video podcast, you usually nonetheless have your earphones or your earbuds in listening to it. So the thought is to maintain it a contained medium, which is what podcasts are,” he says. “The rationale we bought into video is a CNN is a video firm. “That’s what we do, and it’s assembly the listeners and the viewers the place they’re. There are some people that may by no means doubtlessly discover or take heed to Audie or Sanjay, however they may discover them on YouTube, they usually’ll watch this interview, and perhaps that’ll draw them into the bigger podcast, or perhaps they’re glad with simply getting that interview portion on YouTube.”
As a substitute, Lickteig needs to construct out extra group round CNN’s podcasts, a vital piece of the puzzle for the information group because it navigates cord-cutting, and as CEO Mark Thompson tries to diversify its income towards extra direct-to-consumer choices.
Anderson Cooper’s podcast All There Is, for instance, focuses on the theme of grief.
“We created a web based grief group at CNN, the place individuals may go there and share their tales,” he says. “Anderson had over the past two seasons, 600 hours of voicemails individuals left, telling their tales of grief, simply an unbelievable quantity. And we loaded all of them up into mp3, only for Anderson, and he simply would take heed to them on his walks, take heed to them when he was doing different issues.”
“Principally what we did right here is all these individuals who had issues they needed to speak about have been in a position to get on the positioning, on our platform, and discuss to one another about their loss. So that they would depart their story remark, Anderson would remark,” he continued. “To have somebody of Anderson Cooper’s notoriety and fame to be on there, responding to a listener within the feedback actually has a deep affect.”