Political podcasts exploded during the UK election – is it time to regulate them?

Creative freedom without the rules and restrictions of traditional broadcast media is what is allowing this medium to thrive.

Political podcasts have exploded in popularity in the UK. Publishers like Acast and Spotify have reported downloads of political titles rising 50% or more over the 2024 general election.

As a researcher of broadcast journalism and a podcast producer, I find this exciting but not surprising. Before these figures were even published, I predicted this would become the UK’s first “podcast election”.

I believe the accessibility of podcasts – the fact they can be listened to at any time, and the freedom for podcasters to express opinion without regulation – is a big factor for this rise. But political podcasts’ popularity now raises questions about whether this content should have more oversight.

In a recent interview, Tony Pastor, co-founder of podcast giant Goalhanger, revealed that its biggest titles, The Rest is Politics and The Rest is History, were downloaded around 10 million and 12 million times a month, respectively.

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The medium has come a long way since 2006, when comedian Ricky Gervais’s show was the most downloaded podcast ever with an average of 261,670 downloads per episode. Podcasting was still in an experimental stage, and few people had heard the term.

But even then, Gervais acknowledged the unique freedoms of the format, telling the BBC: “We didn’t have a boss. We didn’t have rules or restrictions that you do on radio.”

For fans of audio storytelling, podcasts introduced a new way of listening to content whenever and wherever they wanted. For their part, hosts appreciated the freedom to say and do what they wanted without the restrictions of the rules and regulations of broadcast radio.

Freedom without constraints was one of the appeals of the much-loved “pirate radio” of the 1960s. These unlicensed radio stations on boats floating off the coast of the UK had few regulations. DJs such as Tony Blackburn, Kenny Everett, John Peel and Emperor Rosko could say what they wanted and play what they liked. They offered something different from what was on offer elsewhere, and this helped build them a loyal audience of followers who liked their rebellious nature and new sound.

A similar appeal has helped podcasting grow year on year. There are now more than 500 million podcast listeners around the world. In the UK, around 38 million people (69% of the adult population) have listened to a podcast, with around 23 million (42%) saying they have listened to a podcast in the last month, according to the latest figures.

But with such popularity, should there be tighter controls on what is being broadcast?

For an argument in favour, consider the recent election coverage. Broadcasters are governed by Ofcom’s broadcast code, so on election day, TV and radio stations are not allowed to air anything political that could influence voters.

Yet, on election day this year, podcasters were free to produce whatever content they wanted. When you consider that the most popular political podcasts, such as The Rest is Politics and The News Agents, regularly hit 2 million downloads per episode, this could become problematic for an unregulated medium. You just have to look at the fake news pushed out on social media and the impact that often has, such as during the January 6 US Capitol riots, to see the damage unregulated publishing can create.

The freedom to create

Some believe that recent regulatory changes in Canada will lead to podcasts being regulated. Last year, the Canadian government introduced legislation giving the country’s broadcast regulator broad powers over digital media companies. This means companies such as Spotify and YouTube have to register as a platform. From November last year, all podcasting services operating in the country that make more than CA$10 million (£5.7 million) had to register with authorities.

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There are some advantages to this, one being discoverability. Under the rules, those companies now must promote Canadian content, including indigenous content. This will hopefully result in more local material being heard by a wider audience. But critics suspect this is just the start of regulations for podcasters, and fear that further regulation could interfere with freedom of expression.

In the UK, the new Online Safety Act was passed last year, aiming to make social media firms more responsible for users’ safety on their platforms, including protecting children from illegal and harmful content. Some critics argue it could allow regulators and tech firms to dictate what may or may not be said online, raising issues for freedom of expression, privacy and innovation.

The act could ultimately lead to tighter rules determining what content podcasters can publish: a regulator through the back door, taking away one of the key elements that makes a podcast different from the traditional broadcasters.

Governments and regulators should tread very carefully down this path. The creative freedom without the rules and restrictions is exactly what has allowed this medium to thrive.

There are no gatekeepers such as broadcast bosses or editors who may have their own opinions on what “the audience” wants to hear. There are no regulations set by governing bodies because they believe they know what’s best for “the audience”. A podcast allows the creator to create, with listeners deciding whether to tune in or not.

Podcasting also opens doors for people who may have them closed by traditional media. This is summed up by the hosts of award-winning podcast Brown Girls Do It Too. A 2023 article marking 20 years of podcasts concluded that, without podcasts, there is no way hosts Poppy Jay and Rubina Pabani “would have found themselves professionally engaged in the business of making people laugh”.

In an industry where, according to a recent Ofcom report, diversity is still lacking, podcasts are a welcome hub of diversity and accessibility. This is just one reason why I would keep regulators well away from podcasts, and allow the podcasters to freely create – then watch the sector continue to grow.

Carl Hartley works on a freelance basis for the BBC.