Are podcasts significant and profitable?

A podcast is a digital audio file made available for downloading from the internet through a feed, to your computer. It can be synched with your mp3 player. Podcasting is great because people can chose the media they want and listen to it when they want to. It also has made it a cheap way for anyone to become a radio producer and opened up the field of radio to the average person. For businesses it can be a powerful way to connect with customers and promote your business to them on a regular basis and it has opened the door for many people to become a recognized expert or celebrity in their niche.

In 2005 National Public Radio launched podcasts and within a week they were number one on iTunes for the most downloaded podcast. While NPR has offered repurposed material in their podcasts they also have offered some with new material. They try to present their audience with fresh material that isn’t offered on the air or web. NPR has been experimenting with different types of podcasts. They found that most people preferred smaller podcasts, like their “Story of the Day” which highlights their editorial picks, probably because they are multitasking and don’t have a lot of time to listen.

NPR is well known as free public radio with quality content, but they have to bring in money somehow to keep going. Sponsors and underwriters so far have provide much of their funds. NPR has found that podcasting is a new source of income that can help keep them alive. To make money on podcasting they have ads, but to prevent irritating their listeners they are very careful how often ads are played and what ads are offered. For a 30 minute podcast they usually have two ads placed at the beginning and end. They also try to look carefully look for ads that would be of interest their listeners.

Has NPR set a new model for businesses using podcasting? I think that having new material available for podcasts is likely to attract many people, and their brief updates are a good idea because not everyone can listen all day, or at certain times, and it’s a good way for them to still keep up and interested in the programming. Having carefully selected ads, such as for a political program offering an ad for a site you can go to, to get more information, seems like a great idea. Not all ads are bad. Many offer people more information and ideas that are helpful. If more producers were as careful about the ads they chose to air with their material, then people might not find them as irritating.