What Happened on Day 1 of the IAB Podcast Upfronts

 The 2021 IAB Podcast Upfront Virtual Conference completed its first day today with veteran journalist SuChin Pak as host.

This year’s virtual IAB 2021 Podcast Upfront “Listen Up!” runs from May 11-13. With more than 3,000 buyers currently registered to attend, 2021 Podcast Upfront brings together brands, agencies, and media buyers to connect with the biggest names in the digital audio space.

 So how did it go?

Considering that it's a virtual conference due to the pandemic, the first day ran smoothly and managed to provide valuable information about the future of podcasting and the efficacy of advertising on podcasts.

We learned from Edison Research that podcast listening continues to increase and the pandemic -- while initially decreasing downloads -- became an accelerant for greater and longer listening.

The presentation by NPR was silky smooth and well orchestrated without seeming to be excessively scripted (I'm looking at you, CNN.) The media giant touted its short-form podcast successes and strategy and -- with 7 of the top 20 podcasts -- has much to brag about.

Of course, NPR continues to suffer from the schism between its radio programming that drives local member stations' financial stability and its podcast chess moves that predominately helps the mother ship.

All the podcast networks touted their new podcasts or seasons of their established show. Slate's presentation focused on its expanding network and its host ad reads, where it excels.

Even with an impressive roster of podcasts, Slate still struggles to dovetail its podcasts and excellent digital journalism into its mobile app. Often, the app resembles a dangerous intersection with content nearly colliding into each other.

Vox's presenter Sean Rameswaram was nicely textured and
did not seem scripted like a few other presenters, and Vox used the term "quality podcasts" a few times.  That's a key point. After all, a podcast network is not judged on the size of its network or the number of podcasts, but on the quality of its work. 

Of course, there were presentations on the conversion rates of podcast ads to sales with a happy ending. Podcast ads are effective at engendering sales. I think there's a general feeling in the podcast industry that unlike TV or radio where ads are pre-programmed and divorced from the actual content, podcast hosts do connect with their listeners. And in a way not possible or conceivable in TV or radio.

Presentations by independent podcast networks such as Cumulus were rock solid and often quirky and inventive.

With all the podcast networks promoting the growth of their podcast show rosters, you do have to wonder at what point is there not enough ad money chasing so many well-financed podcasts.

After all, there does need to be a throttle so that these podcast networks do not continue to expand their podcast offerings to the point of exhaustion for listeners. True-crime podcasts have split the atom several times over and soon there'll be a true-crime podcast on littering, jaywalking, or double-parking in front of the local Target store. 

At some point, there should be a reckoning about what topics and subject matter podcasting excels at narrating. How many podcasts do we truly need with a celebrity interviewing his or her friends? Do we need social media influencers bringing their gang of followers to podcasting?

What podcasting isn't very good at is cloning TV without the video.  What it does excel at is the ability to craft compelling narratives, weave "ear worthy" tales about the human condition and cover topics -- like sound with Twenty Thousand Hertz, music with Switched On Pop, or design with 99% Invisible -- that simply never appear on the radar screen of TV execs.

Let's see what happens in day two. There will be a tossed salad variety of speakers, ranging from the Wondery podcast network to former U.S. Senator Al Franken to comedian Tig Notaro.