Meet Shortcasts, Blinkist’s Pioneering New Audio Format
Since 2012, Blinkist has been making key insights from nonfiction books easily accessible through powerful 15-minute packs we call Blinks. Earlier this year, we added nonfiction audiobooks to our library and now, we’re excited to unveil our revolutionary new audio content format: Shortcasts.
With Shortcasts, we collaborate with well-known and up-and-coming podcast creators to present and highlight the key learnings of a podcast episode through a specially-designed audio format lasting around 15 minutes. Shortcasts are the perfect complement to Blinks and are produced in direct collaboration with the podcast creators, with hosts adding valuable context and a fresh perspective.
Launching today in collaboration with top podcasts like Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History, The Baggage Reclaim Sessions from Natalie Lue, Nico Rosberg’s Beyond Victory, and more, this new format makes it easy for you to discover new podcasts or to catch up on the back catalogs of those you already know and love. Shortcasts also helps podcast creators to breathe new life into their older episodes and topics, opening up our audience of over 16 million discerning audio fans.
“Pushkin Industries is excited to be partnering with Blinkist on their innovative Shortcasts format. Blinkist is smart about making content accessible and digestible for people who want thought-provoking content, but who are short on time. We are excited to build new audiences for podcasts like “Revisionist History” and “The Happiness Lab” through Shortcasts,” said Jacob Weisberg, CEO and co-founder of Pushkin Industries.
Want to see who else we’re launching with? Here’s the full list of partner podcasts we’re going live with today but watch this space as many more will join the ranks this fall.
- Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History
- Natalie Lue’s The Baggage Reclaim Sessions
- Nico Rosberg’s Beyond Victory
- Dr. Laurie Santos’ The Happiness Lab
- Farnoosh Torabi’s So Money
- Erik Fisher’s Beyond the To-Do List
- Omar Zenhom’s The $100 MBA Show
- Dr. Rupy Aujla’s The Doctor’s Kitchen
- Blinkist’s Simplify
“Research revealed to us that our audience wanted to listen to more podcasts, but only had so much time they could spend doing it. With Shortcasts, we solve that problem and build off our audio expertise with Blinks to deliver an incredible, high-quality audio learning experience” said Holger Seim, CEO and co-founder of Blinkist.
While the themes and content of each Shortcast differ based on the source podcasts, at the core of each episode are key insights with a fresh or updated point of view, delivered directly from the original creator. Blinkist developed the new format using audience insights which showed that almost all of the Blinkist audience already listen to podcasts. Out of the survey respondents who say they almost never finish an episode, 78% cite time as a reason. Furthermore, over half listened to podcasts in sessions of only 15-30 minutes.
“We know that our audience already wants to listen to more podcasts but have time limitations. Shortcasts is a fantastic audio innovation that makes sure nobody misses out on world-class content, even if they only have 15-30 minutes to spare. It’s exciting to collaborate with podcast creators to reimagine what the format and their content could look like for people with busy lives.” said Rachel Mallender, Director of New Content Development.
Shortcasts are available from today, October 19th, and can be listened to on the Blinkist app, available on Apple and Google Play stores. Check Shortcasts out today and let us know what you think! We’re excited for you to hear them.
