Audience Engagement
1 min read

Slate says podcasts are now 25 percent of revenue

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

In the scramble to serve Facebook, publishers have pivoted to video, with some disastrous results. Not Slate. It is betting big on text and podcasting this year, supported by new hires, ad strategy and site design.

“The big story is, we’re pivoting to words,” said Julia Turner, editor of Slate. “We’re going to be experimenting with all media, but we spent lot of 2017 looking at the fundamentals of the business of the written word and podcasting and found a strong case in investing in both.”

Slate has been doing podcasts for a dozen years and now has plenty under its belt, which it said accounts for 25 percent of its business. This year, Slate is doubling its dedicated podcasting staff from five to 10 with plans to launch a few more shows, including a second season of “Slow Burn,” its hit show about the history of Watergate; and a new one with star author Michael Lewis called “Against the Rules.”

Read more…