https://thenextweb.com/syndication/2020/01/14/podcast-revolution-the-rise-of-audio-storytelling/

The state of audio drama in 2020 is wildly different from ten years ago when audio, or rather radio drama, was in decline across much of the English-speaking world. Drama had been dropped from radio stations in the US, was being phased out from popular listening in Canada, and faced budget cuts in the UK and Ireland.

The roots of the reinvention go back to the early 1980s. Adaptations like the BBC’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Lord of the Rings, and NPR/BBC’s Star Wars changed how radio drama was viewed. They gave rise to a later audio movie style and inspired a new generation of independents.