The collective volume The Future of Audio in Public Service Media offers a choral and multidisciplinary reflection on the profound transformation that sound media are undergoing in the context of the so-called era of audification. Edited by Tania Fernández Lombao, Miguel Túñez López, and Madalena Oliveira, the book places audio at the center of innovation strategies in public service media, addressing the technological, regulatory, narrative, organizational, and cultural changes that are redefining radio, podcasting, and on-demand audio platforms. The book is part of the activities of the research projects PID2021-122386OB-I00 and PID2024-160337OB-I00, funded by MICIU, AEI, and FEDER.
Chapter 1, “The Regulation of Sound Media in the European Union: From the Radio Spectrum to Podcasting,” by Ana María López Cepeda, Mercedes Muñoz Saldaña, and Manuel de la Chica Duarte, analyzes the evolution of the European legal framework for public audio, with particular attention to regulatory challenges related to copyright, intellectual property, and content produced through artificial intelligence.
The coexistence of linear radio, podcasts, and on-demand consumption structures Chapter 2, “Catalunya Àudio: The Analog–Digital Balance as Value,” by Montse Bonet, Josep Àngel Guimerà-Orts, and Xavier Ribes-Guàrdia, which examines the case of Catalan public radio as an example of how the balance between analog and digital becomes a defining feature of public value in contemporary audiovisual corporations.
Technological innovation and automation are the محور of Chapter 3, “Artificial Intelligence in Public Radio: Technology and the Transition Toward Automation and Personalization,” by César Fieiras Ceide, Carlos García-Verdugo Peralta, and Martín Vaz Álvarez, which maps the main applications of AI in public radio, ranging from automatic transcription and metadata generation to content personalization and integration into MAM systems.
In Chapter 4, “AI and Podcasting: The Recreation of Historical Figures’ Voices in Spain,” Carlos López Olano, Nadia Alonso López, and Lola Bañón Castellón explore the use of artificial intelligence for recreating historical voices, showing how these techniques are transforming production workflows in audio documentary, fiction, and historically oriented narratives adapted to audio formats.
Platform strategies of regional public service media are the focus of Chapter 5, “Between Identity and Innovation: Uses of Podcasting in A Galega, GUAU, and 3Cat,” by Elena Neira Borrajo, Luis Miguel Pedrero-Esteban, and Lourdes Moreno-Cazalla. The comparative analysis of Galicia, the Basque Country, and Catalonia highlights the commitment to format diversity, cultural and linguistic identity, multiplatform presence, and the weight of entertainment and educational content in audio catalogs.
Accessibility, as a key dimension of public value, is the focus of Chapter 6, “Accessibility on Audio Platforms: Challenges for Public Service Media Companies in Europe,” authored by Mónica López-Golán, Verónica Crespo-Pereira, and Olga Blasco-Blasco. Drawing on regulatory, theoretical, and technological reviews, the chapter identifies persistent shortcomings and points to the potential of artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve subtitling, audio description, and universal access to sound content.
Podcasting as a tool for scientific literacy is examined in Chapter 7, “New Scientific Dialogues: The Use of Podcasts for Public Communication of Science,” by Ana Gabriela Frazão-Nogueira, Diogo Guedes Vidal, and Patrícia Weber, which analyzes the Compor Mundos experience and advocates audio as a space for critical thinking and plurality of voices in the scientific field.
The transformation of national public radio toward on-demand models is addressed in Chapter 8, in which Paula Martínez-Graña, Rafael Galán Arribas, and Francisco Javier Herrero Gutiérrez study the evolution of RNE toward a plural and heterogeneous radio-on-demand service, in line with strategies developed by other European public service media.
The volume concludes with Chapter 9, “Branded Podcasts and Corporate Podcasts as a Communication Phenomenon,” by Talia Rodríguez-Martelo and Isaac Maroto-González, which examines the adaptation of the advertising industry to the digital sound ecosystem and analyzes the role of sponsored content in renewing the audio offerings of public service media.
Overall, The Future of Audio in Public Service Media constitutes a relevant contribution for researchers, professionals, and communication students interested in understanding how audio is consolidating as a strategic space for innovation, narrative experimentation, and the construction of public value in the contemporary media ecosystem. The book provides theoretical insights and case studies that make it possible to think about the future of sound from a critical, European, and public-interest-oriented perspective.