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Podcast Opportunities in 2020
Some topics that could provide podcast opportunities in 2020 include cryptocurrency, thrifting, politics, true crime, and sober curious.
Topics
Cryptocurrency
- Cryptocurrency became huge in 2017 and then declined in 2018. However, there is still interest and it is unclear what will happen next in the industry which makes it ripe for discussion.
Cannabis
- Cannabis is an emerging industry with many complexities surrounding it.
Thrifting
- There is a growing interest in thrifting as Americans are looking for ways to be more thoughtful consumers and focus on sustainability.
Zero Waste Lifestyle
- Where a zero waste lifestyle used to be associated with hippies, it is becoming more mainstream and people are looking for ideas on how to get closer to that goal.
Alternative Ways of Eating
- Between 2014 and 2017 the number of Americans who identified as vegan grew from 1% to 6%. As more people embrace new ways of eating they will be looking for communities to support their transitions and new lifestyles.
Politics
- With a presidential election in 2020 and the country as divided as ever, there will be opportunities for podcasts to address the political environment in new ways.
True Crime
- Six of the top 50 podcasts currently on iTunes are produced by Wondery and focus on true crime stories. The popularity of these podcasts indicate there is a market for these types of stories.
High School, College and First Job Advice
- As of 2018, Gen Z is the largest population in the U.S. As these people are currently between ages 0 and 23, the older ones of the cohort will be looking to succeed in high school, college, and beyond. Creating podcasts that help on this path is a current opportunity.
Healthcare
- In 2019, health-related hashtags were some of the most retweeted of the year. This included medicaid, healthcare, aca, and opioid. This indicates that people, at least on Twitter, are engaged with the topic and a podcast focused on healthcare could be successful.
Sober Curious
- There is a trend towards sobriety that has been growing and people who are testing or embracing this lifestyle could appreciate a podcast that focuses on the lifestyle, how to fit in with friends who drink, and best places to go for low or no-alcohol drinks.
Content Type
- Four of the most popular formats for podcasts are interviews, non-fiction narrative, hybrid, and repurposed content.
- The interview format generally has a single host who is interviewing either a single person or a panel of people.
- A non-fiction narrative format is a combination of storytelling, audio clips, and editorializing.
- Hybrid podcasts typically have a set host but may change it up with guest hosts, interviews, or panel discussions.
- Podcasts that use repurposed content focus on curating content that is already available on the web to put it all in one place for people interested in a particular topic.
Research Strategy
We began our research looking for expert recommendations on potential podcast topics for 2020, which allowed us to find several topics that were included. Then we proceeded to look for consumer trends that could provide an opportunity for a podcast. We identified trends such as the zero waste lifestyle, growth of the Gen Z cohort, and sober curious. For each trend identified, we found data to support that it was a trend and provided an explanation of why the topic could provide a podcast opportunity in 2020.