Updated 26 May, 2012, 4:18 pm IST

Podcasting Rising, But Slowly

25 Nov, 2006, 3:00 pm IST | by Sharon Khare |

According to a survey by Pew Internet and American Life Project some 12% of Internet users say they have downloaded a podcast so they can listen to it or view it at a later time. This finding compares to the 7% of Internet users who reported podcast downloading in our February-April 2006 survey. However, few Internet users are downloading podcasts with great frequency; in both surveys, just 1% report downloading a podcast on a typical day.
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Men are more likely than women to report podcast downloading; 15% of online men say they have downloaded a podcast, compared with just 8% of online women. And those who have used the Internet for six or more years are twice as likely as those who have been online three years or less to have downloaded a podcast (13% vs. 6%).
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These results come from a nationally-representative telephone survey by the Pew Internet & American Life Project from August 1 – August 31 of 2,928 adults. The portion of the survey that covered podcast downloading was administered to 972 internet users.

The range of content available to those interested in podcasts has exploded over the past two years. In 2005, the New Oxford American Dictionary declared 'podcast' the word of the year, with the accompanying definition of a podcast as, "a digital recording of a radio broadcast or similar program, made available on the Internet for downloading to a personal audio player." Yet, while early podcasters typically distributed syndicated audio files and radio shows, podcasters now routinely deliver many kinds of digital multimedia content, including video, images and text.
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The array of individuals and mainstream media institutions that now provide podcasts has also expanded dramatically. For example, in November of 2004, Podcast Alley, a podcast directory website, listed fewer than 1,000 podcasts for download. In addition to homegrown podcasts that cover topics ranging from music and fashion to religion and politics, mainstream media institutions such as NPR, the BBC and Comedy Central now regularly provide podcasted material as an alternative way to distribute their content.

While an iPod or MP3 player is not necessary to listen to or view podcasts, the proliferation of mobile media gadgets has helped fuel the demand for digital content that can be both time-shifted and place-shifted for listening and viewing on-the-go. According to a February-April 2006 survey, 20% of American adults and 26% of internet users report ownership of an iPod or MP3 player. Young adults, those with broadband access and parents are considerably more likely to have an iPod or MP3 player.

Tags: podcasting , Apple , iPod