The podcast is heading for the mainstream.
A recent report from Nielsen Analytics found that podcasts – online broadcasts downloaded from the Internet for playback on portable devices – are attracting a growing number of listeners, a shift that media companies and advertisers have noted.
More than 9 million Internet users in the United States downloaded podcasts to computers and mobile devices last month, the study showed. Ten percent of the study’s 1,700 respondents said they download eight or more podcasts a week, and 38 percent of those said they listen to the radio less because they’re listening to podcasts.
More than 75 percent of all podcast listeners are male.
The number of podcast listeners is still small compared with the audiences of traditional media outlets, but technology analysts said the study illustrates the impact that podcasts might have.
“For a technology that’s relatively new, it’s a good number that indicates growth,” said Michael Gartenberg, a vice president of the market analysis firm Jupiter Research. “It’s gone beyond something that’s only of interest to technology enthusiasts.”
The most popular podcasts – mostly news and entertainment – have prompted large media companies, including traditional radio stations, to experiment with online programming. “Advertisers go wherever there are ears and eyes, especially when you get people who are highly engaged like podcast users,” said Larry Gerbrandt, senior vice president of Nielsen Analytics. “So many businesses are adopting it for different types of communications because it’s an extremely adaptable format.”
A recent study by Forrester Research Inc. found that one-quarter of online consumers are interested in podcasts because it allows them to listen to audio and video programs at any time and place. Internet radio stations, broadcast radio shows and radio news programs are the most popular types of podcast content.
The Forrester study predicts that radio station podcasts that complement over-the-air broadcasts will continue to develop, as will unique content that will create niche markets.
And the popularity of podcasts will continue grow as people become more familiar with the technology, said Tim Bourquin, chief executive of TNC New Media Inc., an online media company that produces several podcasts.
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