If you asked 100 sports fans what makes their favourite sports podcast so good, you would probably get 100 different answers.
The question of what makes a great sports podcast is a difficult one. Not only would different elements appeal to different people, but one of the great strengths of podcasting is the lack of rules and boundaries that allows content producers to be creative within the medium.
However, when we look at some of the most successful sports podcasts in the market, there are five key attributes that we can identify time and time again. These shows may not contain all of these elements but would normally be able to demonstrate at least two of these characteristics.
PASSION
One of the things that make Podcasting and Sport such natural bedfellows is the shared attribute of passion.
Sport would be nothing without the roar of the crowd or the pain and adulation of those participating on the pitch and audio is a great vehicle for communicating those emotions.
Our favorite sports pundits on TV aren’t those who deliver dry analytics and statistics. It’s the shouters, the moaners the ravers! It’s the individuals who get caught up in the moment that we really relate too and podcasting is the perfect vehicle to capture and amplify the passion and emotions that audiences love.
AUTHENTICITY
Just as podcasting is a great tool for conveying emotions it is also very bad at hiding a fraud!
Podcast listeners can sniff out a fake a mile off and so having the right host, who presents themselves in an honest and genuine fashion, can really build a relationship with an audience.
Tom Fordyce, Producer of hit podcast ‘Things People Do’ with England Rugby star Joe Marler credits his hosts open personality as been vital to the show’s success:
“The star has to be believable and genuinely warm – you can’t fake that on air. With The Joe Marler Show, because Joe has been quite vocal about his issues with mental health, we get incredible messages from listeners who may have gone through a difficult time. They feel like they are in a safe space and surrounded by people who have had similar experiences. It’s a deeper level of connection.”
Authenticity also helps feed another of podcasting “superpowers”: Intimacy.
Podcasting is, by its very nature, a very intimate medium. It is often listened to alone, features one-to-one conversations and is delivered directly into the ears via headphones with little outside distraction. That intimacy can only be amplified if the person listening truly buys into and truly believes the person they are listening to.
COMMUNITY.
What happens around a podcast can be as important as what is happening in your headphones.
Now more than ever the most successful podcasts, both inside and outside sport, have developed very engaged communities around their podcast.
This “community” can take various forms. From private social media groups, paid premium content and even in-person live events. They all do one important thing – build loyalty. When a listener truly feels part of something they are less likely to drift away to other shows or mediums.
Building a podcast audience takes time and maintaining your current audience is as important as finding new listeners. Bringing together your listeners with a shared interest and passion to develop your podcast community can be a huge tool for building and retaining listeners.
ORIGINALITY
It’s a mantra that is often chanted across all podcast genres … “Find your Niche!”.
As the sports podcast market becomes more and more saturated, it is also becoming more and more important to find the thing that makes your podcast unique.
Podcasting is by no means over-saturated – there is certainly always room for more great content – but equally, it’s important to find a unique angle. It allows you to carve out your audience and attract listeners away from whatever else is taking up their media consumption time.
Most successful sports podcasts have (or at least had at launch) a unique angle that they can leverage as a point of difference to establish an audience – there is rarely much value in duplicating content that already exists for an audience that is already being served.
DEPTH
Podcasting is an indulgent medium. The listen through rates of a podcast far exceed what you see on video, with podcasts experiencing average listen through rates of 70%-80% on hour-long episodes.
This ability to hold the attention of an audience member allows shows to offer much more detail and information than their video – or even print – competitors which Richard Moore of The Cycling Podcast explains:
“Coming from a print background you can be really constrained writing for a newspaper of magazine. The depth you can go into (in podcasting) is a huge advantage there. You can really get under the skin of the support, get into the nitty-gritty and also talk about some of the personalities. It’s the depth that in some ways makes it more superior to print.”
It’s not just the “space” within a podcast that allows its creators to go deeper than with other mediums: it’s also the permission given by the audience.
With podcasting, a listener has sought out that specific content, they’ve gone to the effort to find, download and listen to your show which implies they have a keen interest in the subject matter – and want a more in-depth view than they can find elsewhere.
In this way, particularly with sport, podcasting can become an accompanying media to traditional sports coverage. It’s unlikely that a weekly podcast will ever replace the consumption of a big match or a major tournament but by providing the in-depth post-match or pre-game analysis of said event it can become equally essential listening for its audience.
CONCLUSION
Whilst focusing on these five key attributes are in no way a magic formula for creating a successful podcast they are very important to consider when creating your own show. Ensuring two or three of these elements remain at your shows core will help you find and establish your audience by generating a show that engages with fellow sports fans and adds value to their media diet.