By Roz Morris, Managing Director, TV News London Ltd

Do you listen to podcasts?  Have you been asked to give an interview for a podcast? 

It’s becoming increasingly likely that you will be able to answer yes to one or both of these questions.

Although podcasts have been around for about 20 years, in the last ten years they have really taken off in popularity and many of our clients now ask us to provide media training in handling podcast interviews as well as radio and TV news interviews. 

It’s a simple fact that in out interconnected media world podcasts make news as journalists look for easy sources for stories that people will notice and discuss on social media. There are currently more than 6 million podcasts globally with at least half a billion listeners. And according to the latest data from RAJAR’s MIDAS research, winter 2024, just over a quarter (26%) of people in the UK listen to podcasts each week, which is three times the number from 2016. This means listeners are consuming 113 million hours of podcasts each week, whether in vision or just in audio, more than four times as much as in 2016.

Remember that saying when apps were invented: ’There’s an app for that’? We should really change that now to ‘There’s a podcast for that’.

Growth in podcast listenership is outpacing growth in other media. While audio content in general is performing well, podcasts, along with music streaming, are the fastest growing listening activity. Nearly 39% of respondents claim to have listened to a podcast in the past year, according to Adwanted’s exclusive Connected Screens survey, compared with only 17% eight years ago.

Podcasts are more likely to be consumed by younger age groups, with almost half (49%) of both 16-24s and 25-34s claiming to have listened to a podcast in the past year. Older age groups, however, are not far behind, with 45-54s at 39% and 55-64s at 30%.

Whether its niche hobbies with small audiences or celebrities like Steven Bartlett and Joe Rogan or BBC broadcasters and others with audiences in millions, you can find a podcast to suit your interests.

Podcasts are longer interviews than traditional news broadcasting and they can therefore appear to be easier and less challenging than most radio and TV interviews.  However, this easy-going appearance is deceptive. You need to know how to avoid the perils of podcasts.

If you want to do well in a podcast interview you need to prepare thoroughly just as you would for a news interview.  You’ll be talking or at least half an hour to an hour, which is challenging. Plus, you need to do your research and realises that most podcast interviewers will ask you to give some personal details about your life.

The main perils to avoid in a podcast interview are:

• Not doing basic research by taking time to listen to other episodes of the podcast
• Not knowing the style of the host you’re going to talk to  
• Not preparing your agenda for the podcast and being clear why you’re doing the interview
• Not preparing enough positive messages and so running out of ‘safe’ things to say
• Not preparing some personal stories that you’re happy to publicise
• Getting too comfortable and letting slip something off message
• Not researching your audience and upsetting them as Prince Harry did when he appeared on the American podcast Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard and casually referred to the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution as “bonkers”—a comment that instantly drew backlash in America
• Not realising your podcast is in vision as well as audio

Would you like to tackle your next podcast interview with confidence? TV News London can provide you with training to avoid the perils of podcasts, get your messages across, and make the most of your podcast interviews. Contact me on info@tvnewslondon.co.uk

For some more expert advice on podcasts see Chapter 8 of my book – The Visual Revolution Guidebook 

For more info on podcast audiences see the latest Media Pulse Report on Podcasts  Media Pulse Podcasts whitepaper 2025.pdf