Long attention span: Why Pocket FM’s storytelling allows listeners an average of 115 minutes each day
Recent studies suggest that the average human attention span is getting shorter. With just about 8 seconds of average attention span — less than that of a goldfish — we are living in the age of instant gratification with the world at our fingertips thanks to mobile internet.
Naturally, content companies, especially those in the entertainment space, are struggling to keep people hooked, yet there are places like Netflix where people binge-watch. Similarly, in the non-music audio entertainment space, there’s Pocket FM, a six-year-old Indian startup that has cracked the code for a long attention span.
According to listenership data from Pocket FM, people spent an average of 115 minutes daily listening to audio series in 2022. That’s 2.4 times the daily time spent watching short videos and 1.7 times the average daily time spent listening to music. For long-form videos on digital platforms, people spend around 70 minutes daily on average.
What’s more interesting is that the attention span is even higher in the US, a country known for instant gratification. Pocket FM’s registered users in the US spend an average of 135 minutes listening to content on the platform daily, more than double the time Americans spend on TikTok (53.8 minutes daily).
But how does the Indian startup manage to do that?
Intriguing narration, cliffhanger closure
Pocket FM’s “ace up its sleeve” is its audio series, which is similar to television serials and web series but delivered in an audio format. In other words, it’s the modern avatar of good old audio drama.
An audio series is the dramatic audio adaptation of stories that are presented in an episodic manner. Like successful web series, these audio series are equipped with gripping storytelling, intriguing plot, well-etched-out characters, compelling content, and a well-thought-out strategy of ending every episode at a stage that leaves the listener wondering what happens next.
The strategy of ending episodes on a cliffhanger always brings listeners back to the platform, enhancing user engagement and sometimes alluring people to “binge-listen.”
In addition, Pocket FM’s audio series is not just random audio tracks or stories. The Indian startup uses artificial intelligence (AI) to tailor the “listening experience” — from content creation to personalized recommendations.
At the same time, Pocket FM has partnered with about 250,000 talented writers, voice artists, and sound engineers to ensure that every story has what it takes to be a blockbuster.
For Pocket FM, one size does not fit all. It customizes every audio series depending on the language and the target geography. Character names and narrators change depending on language and target geography, and scripts are tweaked with regional nuances. This helps the company ensure better engagement from listeners across markets for every audio series.
Interestingly, a different study shows Americans, in general, are engaging with audio content like never before. Edison Research’s 2023 Infinite Dial report revealed that in 2023, about 70% of the US population listened to online audio every week, mainly for entertainment, compared to just 6% back in 1998.
“We identified an unexplored space in the entertainment industry driven by an increasing demand for audio fiction and crafted a playbook to address this opportunity across every key market,” said Rohan Nayak, co-founder and CEO of Pocket FM.
Clearly, Pocket FM is riding this wave and giving people exactly what they did not know they needed — screen-free entertainment that is anything but boring.
