Mounting data from the likes of Reuters, Statistica and Nielsen leaves no doubt that the Irish relationship with podcasts is among the strongest in the world, writes Chris Cashen.

The growth in popularity of the audio medium here is no surprise, considering the latest JNLR results show that 90% of Irish adults tune into the radio every week.

Podcasts often feel akin to the pirate radio stations of yesteryear, as they often don’t abide by the conventions of established broadcasts.

For example, episodes of The Joe Rogan Experience, the most popular podcast in the world with 19 million subscribers, usually go on for many hours.

Its longest episode was over five hours.

Firstly, you are getting an audience that dovetails with mainstream media regarding age.

Podcast listeners span many age groups, but profile well for younger audiences.

Also, the audience has explicitly chosen to consume it.

So, if you’re looking to reach anyone between 18 and 34 in Ireland, digital audio is a great opportunity.

Not so long ago, podcast charts in Ireland were filled with playbacks of radio programmes that the listener used as a convenient catch-up service, alongside some high-quality US and UK series.

But original Irish podcasts are now making waves across the world.

My Therapist Ghosted Me, hosted by comedian Joanne McNally and media personality Vogue Williams, has toured North America and the UK.

Its listenership is worldwide.

That is also true for I’m Grand Mam, where Kevin and PJ, from Cork, explore the collective life landmarks that accompany growing up gay today.

Other popular Irish shows include The Witness: In His Own Words, Second Captains, Talking Bollox and The Blindboy Podcast.

Nothing accurately represents the power of the medium more than the GAA Catfish episodes of The 2 Johnnies podcast.

‘Johnny Smacks’ McMahon and ‘Johnny B’ O’Brien, who also present The 2 Johnnies Late Night Lock In on RTÉ2, first warned listeners in 2022 about a fake female account that fooled dozens (if not hundreds) of men into a faux romantic engagement, including numerous GAA stars and Johnny B himself, principally through Instagram.

The GAA Catfish series of episodes are compulsive and absorbing because they feel consistent with the love and tragedy of the great tradition of Irish storytelling.

A profile on Instagram fools Johnny B. After many planned dates, finally unearthing that this wasn’t the person they presented themselves as and the stacked lies begin to unravel.

It is expertly explained, through psychology professionals introduced by the hosts, that the increased ability for social anonymity decreases a person’s moral code.

The three-part series contains all the great features of how our brains are hardwired for narratives.

The hosts are clearly able to spin their storytelling wheels expertly.

It gives the listener the feeling of authenticity and transparency that keeps us gripped.

Every revelation and surprise is shared collectively.

Tips, theories and the involvement of the PSNI and the garda force added an enthralling facet to a story that felt like it was evolving in real time.

It may not have the depth of Serial, the podcast largely responsible for the explosion in true crime over the last decade, but it promoted similar behaviours in its audience who dissected each episode online.

In less than a week, the third episode of the GAA Catfish mini-series had amassed over two million streams.

That is off the back of The 2 Johnnies being Ireland’s most listened-to podcast with over 700,000 weekly active listeners with over 76% in the highly sought 25-44 audience, according to sales house Audio One.

The landscape for podcasts has dramatically transformed in the last few years, and the medium is now much more attractive for advertisers.

Platforms like Acast, Audio Xi, Audio One and Spotify make monetizing podcasts much easier.

Niche podcasts allow advertisers to target specific demographics in a way that is much more difficult on radio or television, which tend to have broader appeal and more diverse audiences.

The question isn’t whether your business can afford to advertise on podcasts, but if it can afford not to?