The viewers for podcasts proceed to develop, with 42 % of Americans 12 and older reporting final yr that they’d listened to at least one within the earlier month, in line with a report by Edison Research. Making cash isn’t easy, partially as a result of the market is so saturated that there isn’t sufficient promoting income to go round, stated Ethan Cramer-Flood, a principal forecasting author at Insider Intelligence, a market analysis agency.
PodCo, which was based final yr, expects to show a revenue by the second quarter of 2024, Romano stated. The firm plans to introduce 10 new podcasts this yr, beginning with “Pretty Little Pod” that includes Shaw and Tammin Sursok, who appeared collectively within the ABC Family collection “Pretty Little Liars”; and “Tread Carefully” with Kira Kosarin, who was within the Nickelodeon collection “The Thundermans.”
Romano stated it was by no means her plan to capitalize on nostalgia. Rather, she stated, she ended up greenlighting exhibits that includes former stars of Disney and Nickelodeon teen sitcoms as a result of they had been individuals she knew and will belief.
She hopes the podcasts are locations these stars can really feel heard, she stated.
“We’ve been a silent, area of interest inhabitants of people who had been conditioned to be compliant and by no means really understood our autonomy,” Romano stated. “I need to present them that they are often empowered by having these podcasts.”
The hosts haven’t been afraid to get private.
Jennifer Stone, who performed Harper Finkle on “Wizards of Waverly Place,” recalled feeling disregarded on set at instances in an emotional trade on “Waverly Pod” together with her co-host and former co-star David DeLuise. Alyson Stoner, who was a number of the Disney Channel collection “Mike’s Super Short Show” and was within the movie “Cheaper by the Dozen,” has mentioned being stalked and different pressures of kid stardom on her podcast, “Dear Hollywood,” which isn’t a PodCo franchise.
As they alter to the brand new platform, the hosts have sometimes landed themselves in hassle. The “Ned’s Declassified” stars appeared in a TikTok dwell video on March 18 during which they appeared to mock Drake Bell, a former star of the Nickelodeon collection “Drake & Josh” who shared his account of being sexually abused by his dialogue coach in “Quiet on Set: The Dark Side of Kids TV,” a brand new Investigation Discovery documentary collection.