Podcast as a transmedia sound extension of audio-visual fiction

Abstract

The flexibility of the podcast, a format which favors the listener autonomy and control in the access to the content and the intimacy and personalization in the listening, allows us to expand the reach of audiovisual fiction through transmedia stories that expand the possibilities of the user’s connection with their stories, backgrounds, and characters. This paper analyses the fifteen podcasts produced in Spain during the period 2015-2021 as extensions of series launched on broadcast television channels (La1, Telecinco and Antena 3), pay channels (FOX) and video-on-demand platforms (Movistar+, HBO Max and Amazon Prime Video). The analysis confirms that all of them give continuity to the original narrative universe through a wide variety of sound genres –audio-fictions, interviews, talk shows, reports, and documentaries– and exclusive, distinctive, and valuable story contributions. At the same time, it is notable that, in some cases, distribution strategies are not well defined and do not take advantage of all platforms and devices for accessing content. In any case, the great potential of digital audio as a creative, efficient, and economically accessible resource, both artistically and commercially, is evident. It favors the generation of engagement and promotes a culture of participation and interaction among fans that becomes an effective response to the growing fragmentation of audiences in the contemporary digital ecosystem.