Podcasts are audio tracks of discussions on specific topics. They can be listened to using special mobile applications, on YouTube or music platforms.
Russia has recently seen a growing interest in podcasts: survey data illustrates that at least 50 shows enjoy popularity. In light of this, more and more large media corporations are entering the market making the audio format an important part of their business.
Today, the active podcast audience in Russia numbers at least one million people, and media companies are making tens of millions of rubles from it. In the near future, these figures will probably grow substantially. In the United States, for example, almost half of the country listen to podcasts, and one fifth of them does it on a daily basis.
The highest popularity in the Russian Federation is enjoyed by podcasts hosted by American comedian and sports commentator Joe Rogan. Also, very popular is Meduza, the Arzamas Education Project (https://arzamas.academy/radio). Podcasts hosted by Sports.ru (https://www.sports.ru/), Lifehacker (https://www.lifehacker.co.uk/), Kinopoisk (https://www.kinopoisk.ru/), the BBC (https://www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts), and Radio Mayak (https://radiomayak.ru/) are also very successful. Incidentally, studios in Russia are now emerging that are specifically designed for the recording of podcasts, such as Libo-Libo (https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts ('Either.. or').