I used to read the news from physical broadsheet and tabloid newspapers.

I’m a little old school like that. Maybe because I used to write business news for a broadsheet newspaper. There’s a tinge of nostalgia whenever I come across physical newspapers that are still printed and circulated. Particularly as these days, news cycles are no longer based on a daily-cycle but rather a 24-hour continuous and almost immediate cycle, thanks or no thanks to social media. 

As an aside, I remember the days when hotels used to place a copy of either the NST or the Star, usually the weekend publication in a bag on the front door of the room for guests to read. It was the cue for a leisurely read of the various pullout sections of the newspaper. Read your favourites sections first. Then work your way through all the different news offerings. Nice.

Anyways, times are changing or rather have changed. Now, I read digital news but also watch and listen to a number of podcasts on news and current affairs.

I think I’m being a little lazy, and somewhat disingenuous. Because I feel I should read rather than listen and watch people talking, discussing, dissecting, interviewing, and proffering their views and opinions.  

That said, I tell myself that it’s not that dissimilar from radio and TV news broadcasts that I listened to and watched a long time ago. News readers read the headlines, sub-headlines, showed some videos and pictures to highlight the news of the day or moment. They also spoke with expert guests, politicians or whomever to get opinions and soundbites on current or pressing issues. In fact, broadcasting stations and studios still air scheduled newscast or news programmes. At home, we still have news at specific times on free-to-air and subscription channels.

Podcasts, on the other hand, are basically pre-recorded and edited audio and/or visual shows. I can listen and watch when I want on my smart TV. I think all TVs are smart these days, meaning they have built-in Wi-Fi and streaming apps. I can also access podcasts via web browsers, YouTube or Spotify on my computer and tablet. On week days, I listen to live streams and podcasts directly with apps like BFM 89.9, a business radio station, on my mobile phone.

A fun fact. Podcasts began to gain ground in 2004, yes, that long ago, and combines the words ‘iPod’ and ‘broadcast.’ 

Released on a daily, weekly or monthly basis, they are so in-vogue that it actually feels like everyman/woman and his/her dog or cat now has a podcast.

‘There are more than 4.7 million podcasts available worldwide[1]. In the first quarter of 2026, 493,091 new shows were launched, and 77,162 of them were created in the last three days alone[2]. Also, the number of the global podcast listeners are expected to reach 619.2 million in 2026 from about 584.1 million last year.

That’s a lot of podcasts and listeners. I guess it shouldn’t be too much of a surprise as there are podcasts on just about everything that resonates with almost anyone, anywhere in the world.

There are podcasts on news and politics, lifestyle and health, sports, comedy, true crime, religion, business and technology and education and history. On top of these genres, there are subgenres and there are podcasts that overlap with multiple genres/categories simultaneously producing a hybrid blend of style and content that works for a broader audience.

Of these, ‘Comedy is the most popular podcast genre worldwide, commanding 30% of listening hours, followed by society and culture (18%) and lifestyle and health (15%) [3].’ While they vary by country (e.g., crime in Poland, finance in Korea, news in Denmark; comedy, conversational, and storytelling formats generally lead in terms of popularity.

Other than news and current affairs, I do listen/watch comedy skits, and some bits on culture and health. No true or untrue crimes for me.

Naturally, there’s moolah to be made in podcasting. ‘Worldwide podcast advertising spending is projected to exceed $3 billion by 2028. Meanwhile the global podcast market is on track to hit $131.13 billion by 2030, at an impressive 27% compound annual growth rate[4].’

On average, podcast listeners spend about seven hours per week listening to their favourite shows, that lasts somewhere between 20-40 minutes. Men aged 25-34 make up the largest listening group. The lowest podcast viewership is among men aged 65+.  

This is interesting. ‘African and Middle Eastern countries have the highest podcast penetration globally, with nations such as Morocco, Kenya, and Nigeria recording listener rates above 75%. Morocco leads globally with 85.6% of its population identifying as podcast fans[5].

This is also interesting. As more than half of all people in the world, roughly 51% male and 49% female, listen to podcasts – listening to podcasts has become or is becoming a mainstream media behaviour everywhere. Hmm.