A recent article about Wizzard media states that more people are starting podcasts, and that it is going more “mainstream.” I again point to the phone for this reason. I also point to the TV. Podcasts are cutting the syncronization cord of iTunes and following a much more direct path to listeners/viewers. Networks such as blubrry.com have taken steps to get podcasts on devices such as the Roku box (making it super easy to consume podcasts on your TV).
Here is a blurb from the press release:
Wizzard Media (NYSE Amex: WZE), the world’s leading podcasting network, today announced it is seeing a 26% increase in average weekly signups in 2011 vs. average weekly signups for 2010. In addition, Wizzard’s premier podcast distribution and monetization platform Libsyn.com has seen average weekly client account revenues increase 27% for 2011 vs. 2010.
“We believe a large part of this growth in podcasting is due to the fact that podcast consumption has recently gone much more mainstream than at any time in the past”
“We believe a large part of this growth in podcasting is due to the fact that podcast consumption has recently gone much more mainstream than at any time in the past,” said Rob Walch, VP of Podcast Relations. “In 2007, when you looked at Libsyn's Top 100 podcast shows – Technology oriented podcasts represented 13% of the downloads vs. just 7% for Comedy. In the first quarter of 2011 Technology podcasts represented just 2% of the downloads for the top 100 shows vs. 42% for Comedy podcasts and 27% for Education and Language Podcasts. Over 69% of the downloads for the top 100 shows now come from very mainstream subject maters – Comedy, Education and Language.”
With clients like Adam Carolla, Marc Maron, Joe Rogan, Kevin Smith and Steve Dahl, Libsyn.com has been both an enabler and a beneficiary of the boom in Comedy podcasts. A recent article in Rolling Stone magazinehighlighted what they called The 10 Best Comedy Podcasts. The Libsyn team was honored when it realized that it hosts 8 of the 10 shows picked by Rolling Stone as the best Comedy podcasts.
Libsyn has seen many producers switch to its service from other hosting services or their own self-hosting account recently. As producers get serious about podcasting they often find they need a service that can handle any growth they receive and one that has the tools to monetize their show. This is where Libsyn is an industry leader and offers best in class: statistics (including geo-location data), demographic survey's, ad insertion tools, smartphone apps and premium subscription tools.
These features combine to allow producers multiple monetization paths. With Comedians, the geo-location data for statistics has offered them something brand new – the ability to quickly see where they are most popular geographically
Ready to start your own podcast? Come visit me at www.schoolofpodcasting.com
