The on-demand generation is here, radio listeners expect their favourite shows when, where and how they want.
Turning a radio broadcast into a podcast can be difficult and time consuming without the right tools. However ‘catch up’ radio content represents an unrivalled opportunity to engage new listeners or existing listeners who’ve missed a live show.
Whooshkaa takes the pain out of the process and helps broadcasters like Australia’s SEN and Malaysia’s Astro Radio save time and make money from their podcasts.
Turning your broadcast into a podcast involves 5 key steps capture, edit, distribute, monetise and measure. Let’s take a look at each step in detail.
Capture
Whooshkaa can capture recordings from industry standard streaming formats including HLS, RTMP, SHOUTcast / Icecast.
Audio can be captured as a one-time event or you can configure a schedule for recording to occur, for example, daily at 7.55am for 125 minutes.
The audio is stored as a media file for later or directly into a podcast episode.
Edit
More often than not a verbatim recording of your live broadcast is unsuitable for on-demand distribution.
There are segments you want to add, remove or replace and Whooshkaa provides the tools to achieve this.
Automated Editing
A powerful feature allowing users to automatically insert cue-points into recordings using metadata, contained in the live stream.
This means that segments of audio like ads, songs and news can be automatically identified for immediate removal or replacement and insertion. Here’s an example of each:
Removal
Perhaps there is a regular segment in your radio show that is time sensitive and is not relevant to on-demand listeners such as a news update. By configuring a “Remove Segment”, Whooshkaa will automatically remove this audio during on-demand playback without the need to edit and save a new audio file - saving time - production teams rejoice!
Replacement
“Replace Segments” switch one segment of the recorded audio with a different piece of audio from your media library, like intro theme music.
One of the best ways to use “Replace Segments” is with Whooshkaa Campaigns which allows you to insert audio at the time of download dynamically targeted by criteria such as user location, device, source, listening app, time of day and streaming vs download listening.
One of our favourite examples is a daily catch-up radio show podcast that replaces the original streamed news segment, with an updated daily news segment so that podcast listeners get the latest news even when they’re catching up on old episodes.
Insertion
“Insert Segments” allow the placement of an additional piece of audio at a specified time code.
This is useful for adding additional content that wasn’t included in the live broadcast. A simple example would be adding a “top and tail” to on-demand audio - for example a unique intro and outro.
Manual Editing
There are some tasks that require a more ‘hands on’ approach to editing, here’s where our in-browser multi-track editor comes in handy.
The editor can be used for curating highlights from the recorded audio, mixing additional audio tracks, and basic audio editing like adding fade-ins / fade-outs.
Our automated and manual editing tools are non-destructive, so restoring your audio to its former state is as simple as reversing your edits in the multi-track editor.
Distribute
When your audio is audience ready, you’ll want to make sure it’s available everywhere!
Podcatchers
Whooshkaa allows you to distribute your audio to all major podcatchers including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, Stitcher and all the others.
Smart Speakers
You can also distribute your audio through connected home devices like Amazon Alexa, Google Home and Apple HomePod.
Web
The Whooshkaa web player allows you to embed the live stream on your website, then seamlessly switch to the podcast version when the live stream is over.
You can also embed previous episodes in show playlists and even highlight reels.
Social Media
Whooshkaa is the only podcast host that allows users to play the audio of full episodes natively in their Facebook timeline. Integrated sharing tools allow you and your listeners to share your episodes on all major social networks like Twitter and LinkedIn.
Private Feeds
Whooshkaa also gives you the tools to create private feeds for paying subscribers.
Integrations
For deeper integrations or additional use cases our developer platform includes a comprehensive suite of audio management and distribution APIs.
Monetise
By turning your broadcast into a podcast, you can now access larger audiences and make more money.
Whooshkaa Campaigns provides you with a full featured dynamic audio insertion platform which can be used to deliver your advertising campaigns.
Whooshkaa Campaigns is IAB Certified for both ad delivery and measurement.
We also work with major global advertisers to provide podcasters with advertising opportunities, you are always welcome to opt in to our ad campaigns.
Measure
An additional advantage of on-demand audio is the ability to track your audience’s listening habits.
Advanced analytics and reporting give you insight into What, When, Where and How they’re listening! Our suite of downloadable (xla/csv) preconfigured ‘trend’ reports are ideal for your monthly manager meetings and board reports.
Whooshkaa Analytics are IAB Certified and audited.
Conclusion
On-demand audio not only meets changing media consumption habits, but also provides broadcasters with unprecedented opportunities to extend their reach and increase monetisation opportunities.
Whooshkaa provides an end-to-end solution for broadcasters to capture, edit, distribute and monetise broadcast and streaming audio on-demand.
If you’re interested in learning how you can save time and make more money, drop us a line to start the conversation.
