The US podcast market is more mature for a reason: it’s English-speaking—making it easier to attract a larger audience and, consequently, more advertising and production budgets. The European market, by contrast, faces a critical challenge: reaching a linguistically diverse audience. So how can we move beyond this market complexity? In this article, we share the motivations behind our recent remake of The Santiago Boys into French, along with the challenges and lessons learned of adapting a podcast for new audiences. These insights are valuable for anyone looking to expand their podcast’s reach across borders.
Language as a structural barrier in European Podcasting
Over the past five to ten years, podcasting in Europe has undergone a tremendous boost in terms of the number of podcasts released, increase of listenership and, therefore, economic value. According to eMarketer, between 2019 and 2024, podcast listeners from 9 key countries across Europe increased from 55.5 to 94.1 million[1]!
Notwithstanding this upward trend, the European audio and podcast market appears to be lagging behind the US. This is surely linked to the fact that the podcast format was developed earlier in the US. However, other structural factors can be understood as endogenous limits to the development of the European podcast market: language.
At Europod, we believe that the multiplicity of languages across Europe limits the potential audience for podcasts with cross-border appeal.
In much of European media, the language barrier restricts stories from reaching broader audiences, even if the stories themselves carry universal or regional significance. We can consider this language divide as a “structural market failure,” limiting not only potential listeners but also advertising revenue—a key component for creators to sustain and grow.
While the video industry can rely on subtitles to break language barriers, podcasting, which depends heavily on language and voice, does not have a similarly established model for multilingual adaptations.
Birth of the RePod project
With the rapid growth of the podcasting sector, we took part to the RePod project[2], conceived to bridge Europe’s diverse national podcast markets and explore new business models for audio-focused media. Recognizing the growing need for cross-border audio production, the RePod project became an essential step in experimenting with adaptation strategies that could expand the European podcast market.
RePod tackled these goals through different initiatives, like the launch of our RePod podcast series. Another key RePod initiative was the adaptation of The Santiago Boys from English into French. The Santiago Boys podcast tells the story of Cybersin, a groundbreaking digital network envisioned by Chilean President Salvador Allende in the 1970s. Interrupted by the 1973 coup, the project aimed to centralize data across Chile. The series explores what might have happened if it had succeeded, focusing on Allende’s team and British tech visionary Stafford Beer.
Why The Santiago Boys?
Europod and partner Chora Media selected The Santiago Boys as the pilot series for the RePod project based on several strategic factors:
- Host and author recognition: Evgeny Morozov, a known figure in technology critique, provides a recognizable voice and authority, making this podcast an attractive candidate for cross-border appeal.
- European and global relevance: Although the story is set in Chile, the themes around early networked technology, state control, and innovation resonate strongly with European and global audiences.
- Narrative structure: The podcast’s immersive storytelling style lends itself to adaptation, making it easier to retain the engaging quality of the original while adapting for linguistic and cultural nuances.
By selecting a series with inherent cross-border relevance and strong narrative elements, Europod and Chora Media aimed to test the feasibility of bringing European podcasting closer to a multilingual, interconnected landscape.
Lessons learners and consideration for multilingual podcasts
In adapting The Santiago Boys to French, the RePod project highlighted several key stages and challenges in multilingual podcast to consider:
- Language and cultural adaptation
Translating a script is just the start. Europod began by working with Éditions Divergence to translate the English scripts into French, transforming the original episodes into shorter, more digestible formats for French-speaking listeners. Translating for audio required creative re-editing to ensure each story segment was engaging and accessible. Each step involved rethinking phrasing and pacing to better resonate with new listeners, a crucial process for maintaining authenticity while achieving clarity. - Careful casting and voice management
With an extensive roster of characters and narrators, the team needed to select voices that captured both the tone, rythm and cultural nuances of the original. Europod carefully coordinated each role, providing voice actors with guides on tone and timing based on the original English episodes, and references to the original extracts to be dubbed. A key learning is therefore that ensuring all actors are given context and clarity on voice style and pacing can help maintain a cohesive narrative across languages. - Leveraging AI for cost-effective production
To streamline costs, Europod incorporated AI voice-cloning technology from Eleven Labs for a third of the characters, beginning in episode four. While AI lowered costs, the team also ensured that all voice actors gave their consent, with original recordings kept private. This hybrid approach allowed Europod to maintain quality while optimizing the budget. - Efficient post-production and episode tracking
Post-production required tracking a large volume of audio files and edits for consistency. Europod developed a system of “dubbing documents” and organized voice recordings by character to streamline the editing process. As a learning, project tracking tools are essential for coordinating across teams, maintaining consistency, and simplifying workflow management. - Timeline management and local promotion
The Santiago Boys French adaptation followed a structured timeline, with episodes released weekly and promotional events hosted in Paris and Brussels. These events were essential in building awareness and engagement around the adapted series. Integrating promotional events into the timelines creates opportunities to connect directly with audiences and build anticipation. Organising such events is key to raise the visibility of the production in each target market.
Is a multilingual approach the future of podcasting in Europe?
The RePod initiative and our recent adaptation of The Santiago Boys showcase the power of multilingual podcasts to connect with diverse audiences across Europe. This approach is one that all podcast creators—whether independent studios or communications teams working on corporate podcasts—should consider. With strategic planning, AI-assisted production, and focused promotional efforts, podcasts can now cross language barriers, opening up new audiences and helping build a more interconnected European listenership.
Curious about bringing your podcast to multilingual audiences? Europod is here to help!
[1]Data from Denmark, France, Italy, Sweden, the UK, Finland, Germany, Norway and Spain.
[2]RePod was executed by the Brussels-based European podcast agency, Europod[2], and Acast, a global leader in hosting and monetisation of podcasts. The project was financed by the 2022-2023 edition of Stars4Media: an innovation exchange programme aiming at facilitating cooperation between media professionals, and accelerating media innovation and cross-border coverage in Europe.
Stars4Media is managed by Fondation Euractiv’s Europe’s Media Lab, in partnership with Vrije Universiteit Brussels (VUB), the World Association of News Publisher (WANIFRA), the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the European Journalism Centre (EJC). The programme is co-founded by the European Commission.
