The motives of the Saudi public's exposure to Internet radio (podcasts) and the gratifications achieved from it A survey of a sample of podcast followers (eight) in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

This study aimed to identify the Saudi audience's motivations for exposure to the podcast and measure its gratifications, thus investigating its impacts and determining the factors that influence content selection. The study is based on the descriptive approach using the media survey method by collecting (220) questionnaires distributed to podcast users in KSA. The findings revealed that utilitarian motives outweighed ritualistic motives. The study revealed that the most prominent use motivations for exposure to podcasts, such as following educational series, events and subscribing to national podcasts, acquiring the ability to think and innovate, commenting and interacting with the topics, then fewer motivations such as leisure and pastimes, daily internet routine, and self-gratification to combat isolation and loneness. The study discovered that most podcast contents tended to be personalized and aimed at reaching individual recipients through their personal devices. Furthermore, the study found that educational and social topics ranked first in terms of priority for exposure and that there is a statistically significant correlation between the level of podcast exposure and the motives of users' exposure to the presented content; as exposure increases, so do motivations. The study also showed that there is a statistically significant correlation between the level of exposure and each of the attained gratifications, which increases as exposure increases. The results highlight the variation of these gratifications, which come from content such as: helping to follow and enhance awareness of events, gaining knowledge through broadcasted educational programs, developing thinking skills, and satisfying the audience's information needs and interests. While the mean's gratifications are: introducing users to others of the same age and interests, self-gratification against isolation and loneliness by following entertainment programs, and reposting the podcast; all of which demonstrate the podcast's communicational value in the Saudi community.