Hungarian Podcast Series Reflects on 100 Years of Radio and the Rise of Spoken Content

With podcast popularity soaring, radio stations are being pushed to evolve—and in Hungary, two legendary voices are reflecting on how it all began. The Rádió 100 podcast series, launched by the National Media and Infocommunications Authority (NMHH), opened its first episode with radio icons László Jáksó and Attila Várkonyi discussing the transformation of Hungarian commercial radio and the broader shift toward spoken content.

The 20-part series, released weekly on NMHH’s YouTube and Spotify channels, commemorates a century of Hungarian radio. It focuses on how private broadcasting emerged after the regime change and invites well-known figures to revisit personal memories and pivotal industry moments.

In the debut episode, Várkonyi recalled how the commercial boom of the 1990s—fuelled by incoming multinational companies—brought a surge in radio advertising, with Danubius and Juventus Radio dominating the airwaves. In 1994, Juventus had an audited income of 40 million forints; a year later, it had surpassed one billion. ‘At that time, you could buy an apartment in Budapest for 1–2 million,’ added host Tibor Kalmár for perspective.

Both guests reminisced about pioneering shows: Várkonyi’s Sztársáv, often recorded live in public venues with celebrity guests, and Jáksó’s HOT 20, a chart-style programme that emphasized commentary as much as music. ‘I wasn’t really attached to music,’ said Jáksó. ‘I was always more about speech.’

Though HOT 20 was initially a response to advice from Australian radio consultant Peter Sinclair, Jáksó reimagined it with his own creative spin. While it played the most popular songs, its unique format made it one of the most distinctive—and divisive—shows in Hungarian radio history.

Várkonyi also addressed scepticism around his show. Many programme directors thought Sztársáv would fail. Instead, it succeeded by offering thoughtful interviews in a format that remained easy to listen to.

The guests agreed that radio has undergone a shift: where music once dominated, now spoken content is resurging. Várkonyi called it a ‘podcast world’, where listener demand for substance is driving the return of talk formats—something radio must continue to adapt to.

Rádió 100 is supported by NMHH and serves both as a tribute to the past and a recognition of how modern listeners are reshaping the future of audio storytelling.

Related articles:

The post Hungarian Podcast Series Reflects on 100 Years of Radio and the Rise of Spoken Content appeared first on Hungarian Conservative.