Will Podcast Networks Take Off?

January 19th, 2006

I have to admit I have mixed feelings on podcasts. I think the idea is very good, and I can see how there can be value in them. However, I still haven’t found a podcast that I actually think is worth subscribing to and listening to more than once. Perhaps it’s because I’m busy, perhaps it’s because I don’t have a long to commute and so I don’t have time to kill. Mostly, I think it may go the way of streaming radio operators a few years back as Mark Cuban pointed out months ago in his blog. Cuban was very involved in the streaming industry, so he probably has a good view point on how hard it is to gain and monetize those audiences.

However, iTunes and RSS may have changed that. Cuban’s post was pre-iTunes podcasts, but he still may hold the same feelings.

Now comes news that more podcast advertising networks are popping up. I do like that these networks are trying to help podcasters monetize their audiences, and I think it sounds like a good strategy to allow self-service advertising where advertisers can create their own audio and “upload” it to the podcast of their choice. Kind of like Google Adwords for podcasts.

Will the audience come around to make this really a big money business model? I’m still not sure. I agree with Cuban that podcasting could be a good medium to repurpose content, but I’m still not sold it’s a great medium for unique businesses to support themselves through podcasting alone.

• ‘Podcast’ Announced as Word Of The Year
• Online Publishers and Ad Networks Podcast from SXSW 2007
• Jason Calacanis Podcast Gets 100k Sponsorship from PodTech and Godaddy
• Right Media’s First Podcast Mentioning
• The Future of Networks

Entry Filed under: Ad Networks, Advertising