In recent years, podcasts have experienced a remarkable rise. However, user numbers are stagnating. What comes next?

Originally launched as a niche medium, podcasts quickly evolved into a mainstream trend.

Especially in recent years, when the COVID-19 pandemic confined people to their homes, more and more listeners became interested in the audio format. As an observer of digital communication from earlier stages, I have naturally also followed the journey of podcasts. In 2004, British “The Guardian” journalist Ben Hammersley coined the term “podcasting”. It combines “iPod” (a reminder of Apple’s revolutionary portable MP3 player) and “broadcast”. Originally, podcasts were developed to distribute audio content over the internet and allow users to listen on mobile music players such as the iPod.

While early podcasts were often amateur projects, a major turning point came with Apple’s iTunes 4.9 in June 2005. For the first time, users could download podcast audio files directly from the iTunes platform. Podcasts suddenly reached millions of users. A wide variety of genres emerged, offering content on almost every imaginable topic, including politics, education, entertainment, arts & culture, true crime, comedy, and science.

In 2012, the first dedicated iTunes mobile app was launched. At the same time, rapid advances in digital devices and the growing popularity of voice assistants and smart speakers made access to podcasts increasingly easy. Personalized podcast recommendations now guide listeners deeper into the expanding ecosystem.