Podcasts might be the next big trend in Taiwan, a survey showed.
The study conducted by podcast platform Soundon said that the number of podcast programs last year increased by about 300, while the first half of this year has seen 870 more programs, adding that the first podcasts have been established as early as 2000.
The podcast scene grows by 100 programs per month, it said, adding that the total number of programs in Taiwan is 1,336.
The majority of new programs can be grouped into two categories — fashion and arts, or society and culture, Soundon said, adding that the growth in news and personal optimization programs remains low.
However, Soundon estimates that such programs would see more demand in the coming years.
Eighty percent of listeners favor talk show formats, the platform’s statistic showed.
While the majority of podcast listeners is female — about 60 percent — the average age of the audiences is between 23 and 32, with more than 95 percent of listeners having a college degree, Soundon said.
At least 50 percent of those listening to podcasts tune in at least five days a week, with an average daily listening time of 31 minutes to an hour, it added.
The podcast medium has taken off within the past two years, as 90 percent of participants in the survey have started listening within this time frame, Soundon said.
Compared with YouTube viewers, podcast audiences appear to be more loyal, with 95 percent of respondents having a preferred program and 70 percent willing to introduce friends or family to their favorite show.
Soundon cited 60 to 80 percent of the respondents as saying that they usually listen to the entirety of a podcast episode — 20 percent more compared with YouTube.
Podcast listeners are also more willing to pay for content, with 60 percent inclined to subscribe to channels and 50 percent saying that they have paid for content before, Soundon said.
About 85 percent of respondents said they do not mind product placement advertising, it added.
The Executive Yuan yesterday announced that registration for a one-time universal NT$10,000 cash handout to help people in Taiwan survive US tariffs and inflation would start on Nov. 5, with payouts available as early as Nov. 12. Who is eligible for the handout? Registered Taiwanese nationals are eligible, including those born in Taiwan before April 30 next year with a birth certificate. Non-registered nationals with residence permits, foreign permanent residents and foreign spouses of Taiwanese citizens with residence permits also qualify for the handouts. For people who meet the eligibility requirements, but passed away between yesterday and April 30 next year, surviving family members
The German city of Hamburg on Oct. 14 named a bridge “Kaohsiung-Brucke” after the Taiwanese city of Kaohsiung. The footbridge, formerly known as F566, is to the east of the Speicherstadt, the world’s largest warehouse district, and connects the Dar-es-Salaam-Platz to the Brooktorpromenade near the Port of Hamburg on the Elbe River. Timo Fischer, a Free Democratic Party member of the Hamburg-Mitte District Assembly, in May last year proposed the name change with support from members of the Social Democratic Party and the Christian Democratic Union. Kaohsiung and Hamburg in 1999 inked a sister city agreement, but despite more than a quarter-century of
Taiwanese officials are courting podcasters and influencers aligned with US President Donald Trump as they grow more worried the US leader could undermine Taiwanese interests in talks with China, people familiar with the matter said. Trump has said Taiwan would likely be on the agenda when he is expected to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) next week in a bid to resolve persistent trade tensions. China has asked the White House to officially declare it “opposes” Taiwanese independence, Bloomberg reported last month, a concession that would mark a major diplomatic win for Beijing. President William Lai (賴清德) and his top officials
‘ONE CHINA’: A statement that Berlin decides its own China policy did not seem to sit well with Beijing, which offered only one meeting with the German official German Minister for Foreign Affairs Johann Wadephul’s trip to China has been canceled, a spokesperson for his ministry said yesterday, amid rising tensions between the two nations, including over Taiwan. Wadephul had planned to address Chinese curbs on rare earths during his visit, but his comments about Berlin deciding on the “design” of its “one China” policy ahead of the trip appear to have rankled China. Asked about Wadephul’s comments, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Guo Jiakun (郭嘉昆) said the “one China principle” has “no room for any self-definition.” In the interview published on Thursday, Wadephul said he would urge China to
RSS