Podcasts Are Increasingly Being Adapted For Television

Over the last five years, media entities have been discovering, and taking advantage, of the increasing value surrounding podcasts. Podcast intellectual property (IP) has been bought in droves and massive licensing deals have been struck. The IP is now being exploited across other media, specifically television.

Books used to undoubtedly be the source material of choice for TV producers looking for inspiration. Podcasts are starting to slowly catch up. The Dropout, WeCrashed, and The Thing About Pam were all made from the IP of podcasts of the same name.

The content is also being heavily invested in, with big names like Paul Rudd and Will Ferrell starring in The Shrink Next Door from – once again – a podcast of the same name.

Content with preexisting fan bases has proved popular across TV and film. Large franchises such as The Avengers, Watchmen, Batman, and Superman all emanate from solid source material taken from comic books. If podcasts become a similar outlet the opportunities in the sector could increase dramatically.

David Shands, the founder of The Social Proof Podcast, said about the development of the medium: “Podcasts are a fantastic entry for numerous types of individuals. A meager cost of entry, with the potential to be marketed heavily, and exploited through other means. The potential is strong for sure, but it’s more than that in my opinion. It could lead to us changing the way we think about media.”

Shands was able to successfully leverage Social Proof, which is ranked as a top 5 podcast for entrepreneurs, to also create The Morning Meetup, where hundreds of entrepreneurs from around the country meet every morning at 8 am EST.

“We have close to 1,000 paid members and the goal is to build a community of 10,000.” He said.

“We have a monthly theme, and every call, Monday to Friday, supports the theme of the month. Every Thursday is Q&A.”

Shands added, “We now have an app where the community communicates and have their own meetups.”

On the potential of the podcast industry as IP, based on his experiences, he continued, “I’m able to use the podcast to promote The Morning Meetup, and vice versa. I’m continually reaching out to people interested in the areas of business and entrepreneurship.”

“The IP can be used everywhere. Social Proof is worth seven figures currently alone. Now that can be used to start new mediums, businesses and ideas. Podcasts are extremely unique in that way. The barriers of entry to other paths – as it pertains to the source material – have a heavy barrier to entry commercially. Whether that be books, comic books, films etc.”

He concluded, “Anyone can afford to start making a podcast, which means creativity is not stifled by financial potential. That’s always an exciting thing in the world of business.”

Podcasts also make for a simple IP handover. Some source material is shrouded in multiple levels of IP ownership and generally intellectual property through podcasts is a straightforward deal. With its ease of access and potential of exploitation, expect more TV series to use podcast source material with in-depth stories to captivate their audiences and keep them engrossed in the universe.