The article examines the typological features of audiovisual content in Russian sports journalism, produced across various platforms and video services (YouTube, VK, Rutube, Apple Podcasts, Yandex.Music, Zvuk, Zen, Soundstream). The following tasks were set identifying the format and content characteristics of Russian-language audiovisual sports podcasts, and determining the most effective tools and content strategies for projects within the relatively niche topic of sports. The research was conducted in the summer and autumn of 2024. The authors carried out a comprehensive analysis of fifteen top-rated Russian-language podcasts dedicated to five sports: figure skating, hockey, tennis, volleyball, and football. The research subjects were selected based on their leading positions in their thematic niche, their labeling as podcasts, and the presence of exclusive material. Since some podcasts utilized audiovisual expressive means, it was proposed to use the term "vodcasting" in these cases — derived from the English "Video On Demand" and "Broadcasting." The study was conducted according to the following criteria: the primacy of audio or audiovisual nature, format, publication frequency, duration, availability of interactive features, the status and role of hosts, podcast activity and audience engagement on social media, media metrics, production companies, and channel design. The analysis of audiovisual content on sports topics revealed that the most in-demand form of communication in this field is vodcasting, where the hosts are professional journalists and athletes. The selected podcasts predominantly fall into the non-narrative event-based and discussion types. The popularity of an episode is directly dependent on the presence of a media personality in the podcast.
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Ostrovskaya et al. (2025) studied this question.
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