How Britain's biggest commercial radio group evolved podcasts from 'bolt-on' to core business with radical hiring and proprietary development
Three years ago, podcasts at commercial broadcaster Global were treated as an afterthought, according to head of factual podcasts, Al Riddell. But that has all changed.
Today, Global produces 50 in-house podcasts, famously attracting high-profile BBC talent like Emily Maitlis and Jon Sopel for its flagship show The News Agents, which last year hit the 100m downloads milestone.
Its podcast operation runs on an in-house proprietary hosting system called Captivate, which provides more granular dashboard analytics - a common podcasting pain point.
Riddell makes a bold claim in an online event with Broadcast Revolution. The News Agents episodes regularly achieve a 125 per cent completion rate - meaning people have finished the episode, and then go back in for a second listen.
Its portfolio is comprised of other superstars (James O'Brien's Full Disclosure), niche community shows (You're Wrong About ADHD with Katie Breathwick and Sam Pittis), documentary series (Vine: Six Seconds That Changed The World) and shows in quick response to the news cycle (The Crime Agents with journalist Andy Hughes and former Met counterterrorism official Neil Basu).
It is now eyeing up US expansion with a lot of promise. Global signed world-renowned journalist Christiane Amanpour and her ex-husband Jamie Rubin (a former US diplomat) last year, and their show The Ex-Files already draws 60 per cent of US listeners.
This content-first international approach allows Global to test the US audience's appetite without significant investment, relying more on existing talent relationships and production capabilities.
Global's jump from radio broadcaster to 50-podcast operation signals a broader trend: media companies that can move audiences between different formats - radio to podcast to video - are winning against those that stick to just one. The future may belong to companies that treat content as a connected system rather than isolated shows.
We used Claude AI to help draft this article before it was edited by a human
If you like our news and feature articles, you can sign up to receive our free daily (Mon-Fri) email newsletter (mobile friendly).
Sign up to receive job alerts of your choice by email, or manage your subscription
Featured recruiter: click to view its vacancies
Investigative journalism publication seeks editor to lead reporting on AI, Big Tech and influence operations with experience in these areas and creative ideas about how to to report on them
Subscribe to our newsletter for latest news, tips, jobs and more
End that deadline stress today and find help in our freelance directory
Cargo Force stuns the world: free 10kg shipping to India in celebration of ICC Trophy victory – offer ongoing until Sunday, 16 March!
Our 35th Newsrewired conference will be held 13 May 2025, News UK, London.
Reporters who have worked under Putin, Erdogan and the Taliban share what they have learned about how autocrats consolidate power and how communities can fight back against the erosion of democratic freedom
Leaders from The Times, Sky News and Reuters reveal why chasing fewer but more engaged readers - and embracing AI as a creative tool rather than a threat - is proving more profitable than old-school mass reach strategies
A TikTok master with 100m views, a paywall pioneer with 3,000 subscribers, and a community visionary backed by local businesses share their strategies for making independent journalism pay beyond ads
Slovakia's Dennik N broke three years of subscriber stagnation with an innovative anniversary campaign, while The New Statesman transformed podcasts from a side project into a powerful growth engine – both offering valuable lessons for media companies hitting plateaus
