NPR has the equivalent of a podcast testing lab that’s now starting to reap huge financial dividends. For instance, the media organization late last year wanted to launch a new politics podcast, so it pitted a week-in-review concept versus a controversial/shocking programming idea on NPR One, its streaming news and podcast app. Results trickled in, akin to a classic A/B split test, and a podcast called NPR Politics was born.
“The shocking one beat the other idea hands-down, so we went that route,” explained Gina Garrubbo, president and CEO of National Public Media (NPM).
