As podcasting grows, screen adaptations attempt to transition from audio to video

Back in 2006, a group of recent RyersonUniversity graduates thought as most graduatesdo "What now?"

Instead of spiralling into worry and despair, they started a podcast about basketball.They called it The Basketball Jonesandfor four years they created content without getting paid a dollar.

Eventually, the podcast was picked up by The Score, where the creators started dabbling in video.In 2013, the team was offered the opportunity of a lifetime:to turn that podcast into a show on NBA TV.

That show, The Starters, is aCanadiansuccess story when it comes to taking podcasts to the screen. That move is just one example of agrowing trend that's seen broadcasters scooping up the likes of Lore, Up and Vanishedand Homecoming,to namea few.

But it hasn't been easy, says J.E. Skeets, who has been with The Starters from the beginning.

Their team, for example, didn't immediately understand just how many people and how much time it would take to make a quality TV show.

"They're two different beasts.We were naive to think that we could just flip on cameras and make a podcast for television."

A podcast boom

According toThe Canadian Podcast Listener, an examination of the Canadian audience for the format,34 per centof the country's adult populationhavelistened topodcastsin the past year, while43 per cent have listened at some point.

The reportreleased in summer 2017 by Ulster Media, Audience Insights and The Globe and Mail, is based on an online survey2,518 Canadians aged 18 and over through Maru/Matchbox's Angus Reid Forum.

As podcasts become more and more popular, it's easy to see why there's been a boom of screen adaptations.

Is your favourite podcast headed for the screen?

6 years ago

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A look at some of the hit podcasts getting adapted for film and television.

For one thing, they have already developed a fan base. In addition, many are by creators and voices "we've never heard before," says Jocelyn Hamilton, president ofeOneTelevision Canada.

"In the podcast world, you tend to find a unique point of view that is passionate, that is coming from someplace that is core to new content, that we can't find anywhere else."

eOnelaunched itspodcast networkin December 2017 andit's already looking at the possibility of adapting that content for other formats.

There are three thingsStuart Coxe, who heads upeOne'spodcast division,looks for when scouting new talent: the ability to grow anaudience, a podcast's potential when it comes to advertisers and possible adaptations to another medium, which could be "everything from live showsto booksto TV shows," he said.

But it's not justpodcastsmaking the move to screen the movement flows both ways. With the rising popularity of the format, established televisionshows are getting in on the action as well.

One of the most successful examples is British reality TV seriesLove Island, whichjumped onto the bandwagon with Love Island: The Morning After. It was clearly a smart move: the podcast spin-off of the TV hit wasNo. 1 on theiTunes chartsin the U.K. regularly this summer, even rivalling BBC Radio 5's podcastWorld Cup Dailyasthe international soccer tournament played out.

Successes and failures

Adaptations from podcaststhat have stayed close to theoriginal material have often been the most successful.DesusNice and The KidMero'sirreverent late-night news and pop culture commentary showDesus&Mero(based on their podcastBodega Boys), is one example. Another is2 Dope Queens,which started as a podcasthosted by Phoebe Robinson and Jessica Williams. The pair later joinedwith HBO to create hit comedy specials.

But success definitely isn't guaranteed. There are production challenges, storytelling issues, budget battles and the risk that the intimacy that can make a podcast sound unique will be lost.

The TV showAlex Inc.turned StartUpa well-received podcast about starting a business into a sitcom about starting a podcast company. It only lasted one season. There was a similarly short run forStuff You Should Know.In both of these cases, the TV version added storylinesthat went far beyond the podcast version.

JeffreyCranorand Joseph Fink are the creatorsofWelcome to Night Vale,a hit podcast thattakes the form of a radio broadcast from a small desert town, where every conspiracy theory is true and people treat extraordinarily bizarre events as normal everyday life.

The pair started writing their podcastin 2011, posted their first episode in June 2012 and have made more than130 episodes. At this point, they're experts in their own form. But they are also well awarethat there's a whole lot they don't know as they move their podcast into the TV market with Sony Pictures and FX.

"Ninety-nine per cent of it I don't understand,"Cranorsaid of the TV world and so the podcast creators are bringingin some big name TV help.

Cranor and Fink partnered withGenniferHutchison, who is currently an executive producer onBetter Call Saul,to develop the pilot.

Hutchinson knows the ins and outs of making top tier TV, but Cranor said another big factor is that she understood that their show is a comedy that is "weird" but also"deep and meaningful."

Cranor and Fink know there's a long road ahead. Skeets and the rest ofThe Starterscrew, meanwhile, are living the podcast-to-screen dream. They've been on the air now for five yearslonger than any other show that's made the transition.

"I'm one of those few people who wakes up on Monday morning and thinks 'Oh, I'm excited to go into the office to talk basketball with my buddies and get paid for it," Skeets said.

"I still pinch myself every day."