Tag: Daniel Nikolaou

German Spotify Original Podcast ‘Die Podcast Games’ Brings Game Show Thrills to Audio

January 18, 2022

Households worldwide have spent decades watching game shows with bated breath. Now, in Germany, game show enthusiasts can enjoy the same rush by listening to the new Die Podcast Games (The Podcast Games), an exclusive Spotify Original podcast. The show is the first German-language podcast of its kind, but it’s in experienced hands with well-known television host Jeannine Michaelsen. The weekly show’s first episode is now available to stream, with new episodes premiering on Saturdays.

“One of our core missions and values at Spotify Studios is innovation,” explained Daniel Nikolaou, Content Development Lead at Spotify DACH and Die Podcast Games producer. “As part of that, it is very important to us to move the conversation surrounding podcasts forward. One thing that we saw was missing in Germany was a full-fledged, entertaining, and well-produced game show. Die Podcast Games is a great example of how podcasts truly don’t have any creative boundaries.”

The game show pits eight celebrity contestants against one another to test their knowledge and quick thinking. Throughout the season, guests face off in three stages—a set of four preliminary rounds, two semifinals, and then the finale—to compete for the prize of 20,000 euros donated to the charity of their choice. Guests span the entertainment world and include artists Alli Neumann and Drangsal, as well as co-host of podcast Zum Scheitern Verurteilt Laura Larsson, television presenter Aminata Belli, model Stefanie Giesinger, YouTube star JokaH Tululu, content creator Papaplatte, and co-host of Spotify Original podcast Offline + Ehrlich and YouTube star Varion.

Germany Takes Podcasting to a New Level With a New Podcast Parodying… Podcasts

May 18, 2021

Germany is one of the most mature markets for podcasting, with a culture that has been attuned to audio for decades. So Spotify has been active in the market, churning out Spotify Original and Exclusive podcasts for several years—while watching the format grow and mature. The growth and longevity have enabled us to experiment with unique talents, formats, and trends. 

The newest Spotify original podcast in Germany, Podcasts — der Podcast (Podcasts — the Podcast) plays on that maturity with a brand-new format. The show parodies existing podcasts, hosts, and the medium as a whole, much like TV shows and movies already do globally. The podcast serves as a touching yet hilarious love letter to the evolving, important medium. 

We talked to Saruul Krause-Jentsch, Head of Studios, Germany, to better understand why Germany’s listeners were ready for this satirical format, what it means for the future of podcasting, and why she’s excited to tune in.

We previously learned from Managing Director Michael Krause that Germany is a mature podcast market. How does that influence the types of podcasts that come out of Germany?

The first Spotify Exclusive podcast, Fest & Flauschig, came out of Germany in April 2016. So we’ve had five years of experience in Germany around podcast production since then. We understand our core podcast audience very well and have launched over 40 other successful German shows across comedy, entertainment, and relationships. Our most successful podcasts continue to be comedy and entertainment, but we’re constantly evolving into new formats and genres, like documentaries, fiction, and daily news. For example, our six daily formats have gained a lot of traction and are positioned at the top of the chart rankings in the region. 

All of this sets us up to be innovative, and now we want to grow and learn further with a more satirical podcast show like Podcasts — der Podcast.