Podcasts heating up in China

HANGZHOU, March 17 (Xinhua) -- Wearing a backpack and earphones, Zhang Zhaoyu set off from his office during rush hour, accompanied by his favorite podcast.

Podcasts have become a life companion for this 27-years-old white-collar worker in Beijing. "When I'm commuting or waiting, podcasts fill the boring blanks," said Zhang.

According to an investigation report from market research company eMarketer, there were 86 million podcast listeners in China in 2021, second only to the United States.

In China's eastern Zhejiang Province, Zhao Fanyu was preparing dinner for herself while listening to a podcast.

"Listening to podcasts gives me some companionship when I'm doing chores or cooking," said Zhao.

After getting her master's degree, Zhao came to Jiaxing City and found a job as a grassroots civil servant. She listens to podcasts for more than an hour a day and usually listens to discussions about current events and hot topics. In her view, podcasts are becoming a spiritual home for young people living alone in big cities.

Like Zhao, young urbanites living in China's first-tier and second-tier cities are the main audience for podcasts. They care about state affairs, personal feelings and listen to serious discussions as well as games and entertainment.

Podcasts in China had not taken popularity for some time, but now they are heating up in China.

According to statistics from podcast search engine ListenNotes, the number of Chinese podcasts exceeded 10,000 in April 2020, but by the end of 2021, the number exceeded 40,000.

Dong Chenyu, a lecturer at the School of Journalism and Communication, Renmin University of China, believes that the medium of sound has irreplaceable advantages in some special occasions over videos.

He added that the epidemic has made people spend more time at home, causing prolonged screen time to affect their eyes, making podcasts a welcome relief.

Dong believes "the resurgence of podcasts is inlaid with the logic of media development."

Podcasts are also gradually becoming more valuable commercially. Shu Yulong, CEO of podcast app Xiaoyuzhoufm, found that podcasts are now gradually being taken seriously by market media.

"In 2021, traditional paper media started to enter the podcast market, opening podcast accounts in Xiaoyuzhoufm, and recording audio content for podcast platform distribution," said Shu.

As eMarketer predicts, the number of podcast listeners in China will reach 102 million by 2022, and more than 10 percent of the Chinese population will be podcast listeners by 2024.

In addition to Putonghua, podcast programs in Cantonese, Sichuan and Chongqing dialects are also booming, presenting audio content in a more life-like manner, Cheng said.