Several conservative podcasts have been among the best audiences in the United States in recent months, shaking up a landscape in which until now successful political programs tended to be left-wing, a sign of the evolution of this still young format.
Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly, Shawn Ryan and Candace Owens: so many right-wing personalities that they are now among the 25 most listened to shows on the Spotify platform, while none were among them last year.
Although Joe Rogan, Democrat critic and latest supporter of Donald Trump’s campaign, has been at the top of the global podcast hierarchy for years, the most prominent political talk shows tend to be on the other side of the spectrum, especially politics. I could save America, Chapo’s trap house EITHER Last podcast on the left.
Known personalities
And if the presidential campaign gave a boost to these right-wing personalities, several of whom had the right to a visit from Donald Trump himself, it did not benefit Democratic supporters.
For Kristine Johnson, a marketing professor at Rowan University, “one of the reasons these shows became so popular is that some of these hosts were already famous” before they started podcasting. Before striking out on her own, Tucker Carlson attracted more than three million viewers every weekday night on Fox News through April 2023. Also a Fox News star, Megyn Kelly was poached for $69 million by the important national channel NBC, where it only remained two years, until 2019.
“Extreme content”
The democratization of podcasting is also a factor of expansion beyond the young urban graduates, more left-wing, who formed the historical hard core of listeners. According to a study by Edison Research published in April, 98 million Americans listen to this format at least once a week, 58% more than just five years ago.
After two decades of experimentation, “podcasting is mature. People have understood how to use it effectively to convey a message and make money,” says Martin Spinelli, professor of podcasting at the University of Sussex in the United Kingdom. “That is why it is not surprising that highly motivated groups get involved and finance product development,” continues the academic.
Improving algorithms also make it easier for podcasts aimed at specific audiences to find their audience. Omnipresent on the radio, where hosts like Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck have gathered millions of followers for decades, Republicans are now moving into podcasting, where the competition is even tougher.
With the proliferation of political opinion programs and the polarization of the political landscape, the general tone has become radicalized, breaking with a general atmosphere historically less aggressive than that of the radio.
“There are many very effective left-wing political podcasts, (…) but they are more intellectual,” considers Martin Spinelli. “I think the way (right-wing shows) deliver their message is much better suited to audio than what the left does.”
“What’s working right now on podcasts is political discourse based on emotion,” he continues. “Everything is based on fear, anxiety and, in the worst case, hatred, and that is something that reaches people’s ears very effectively.”
Source: BFM TV
