Public radio’s ‘Marketplace’ plans to expand

LOS ANGELES - Weekday afternoons, millions of Americans - many stuck in rush-hour traffic - pick up some of the business news of the day from Kai Ryssdal, host of the public radio show 'Marketplace.”

'Marketplace,” which is produced in downtown Los Angeles by American Public Media, is the most popular business program on radio or TV in the United States, with an average 14.6 million listeners a week. In the past year, the 28-year-old program has seen its audience grow 16 percent - benefiting from Americans' increased appetite for news.

Hoping to capitalize on its success, 'Marketplace” has launched an ambitious plan to remain a source for general economic information as consumers' listening habits change, putting a strain the traditional broadcast model.

'We cannot rest on the idea that listeners are always going to come to us,” Deborah Clark, senior vice president and general manager of 'Marketplace's” portfolio of programs, said in a recent interview. 'They've been a captive audience. We're on the radio and they know how to find us there - but now people are not just looking toward the radio for the content.”

Cognizant of the challenges brought by the availability of podcasts and internet radio as well as threats over funding cuts to public radio and TV from the White House, 'Marketplace” is expanding its staff, producing more audio podcasts and figuring out other ways to reach listeners and generate more revenue.

The plan is to turn a show about business into a self-sustaining business that can prosper in the era of digital media.

Key to 'Marketplace's” strategy is cultivating listeners who are not devotees of public radio. Finding new sources of revenue also presents challenges because public broadcasters are not allowed to run overt commercial messages, and 'Marketplace's” mission - 'raising the economic intelligence of the country” - puts a priority on education, not commerce.

'Marketplace's” annual revenue is about $18 million, about two-thirds of which comes from corporate sponsors. 'Marketplace” doesn't directly receive any federal money.