Derrick
ლ(ಠ_ಠ )ლ
- Joined
- Nov 22, 2010
- Messages
- 5,085
- Reaction score
- 5
A friend of mine was recently appointed as compliance editor for BBC Radio 4. She asked me about podcasts, and specifically professional ones that would be of interest to the radio industry.
The trick, of course, is to choose from the thousands that are available, and narrowing it down.
This got me thinking about podcasts that might be ‘competition’ to Radio 4. The flagship BBC radio station has more than six million listeners on a programme like Today. Almost per definition, podcasts are niche products for targeted audiences, and couldn’t possible compete with such large audiences. For now.
As I considered some examples, the whole question flipped over and I realised it’s a dangerous way to look at it. I will give you some excellent examples, but there are other things to keep in mind as well.
Firstly, podcasts are like Tivo or Sky+, because you can skip parts of the show you don’t like, you never miss the beginning of the show, and you can go back to pieces you like, pause it, and then share it with other people.
Secondly, podcasts are not the only audio that can encroach on radio’s absolute dominance. The audio book market is also growing, and Audible.com now has more then 45 000 books available to download.
Thirdly, podcasts were ‘made famous’ by the iPod, but you don’t need an iPod to listen to them. Any MP3 player will do, and this includes a desktop computer, which is also an MP3 player and widely used for podcasts. In fact, most of the people I know who listen to podcasts do so on their computers, while working.
Lastly, the iPod is almost universal. And it is dangerous to traditional radio because of a little recognised fact: it has no built-in radio. Other MP3 players like those from Sandisk, iRiver, Microsoft or Creative are superior in most ways, including the fact that they have radios. Every person you see with the white earbuds disappearing into their pockets is decidedly NOT listening to radio, whatever else they might be listening to.
So, getting to the point of which podcasts might be ‘competition’ to Radio 4? I listen mostly to technology related podcasts, with some business, marketing and news thrown in. I trawled through my own subscription list, as well as looking for familiar names and the award winners on PodcastAwards.
This Week in Tech (TWiT) produced and presented by Leo Laporte is probably the biggest podcast out there, with a diverse audience.
The Economist has there own audio section, and The Financial Times put out a few podcasts each month on various topics.
There is a Deloitte podcast, and obviously Guardian Unlimited has many podcasts, notably Media Talk, which has a huge following (possibly within the BBC itself).
Apart from the winners mentioned at PodcastAwards, some well known (and well loved) are Keith and the Girl, Democracy Now, Reduced Shakespeare Company and the popular This American Life.
Another great way of discovering competing podcasts is to use iTunes. This software has a built-in podcatcher (software for automatically subscribing to and downloading podcasts), and there is a ‘Podcast’ section in the iTunes Store. The podcast page in iTunes shows information about the podcast (almost all are free), but it also shows five similar podcasts that listeners subscribed to. So, for example, people who subscribes to the BBC’s NewsPod, also subscribed to:
• Great Speeches in History
• Channel 4 Radio News – The Morning Report
• The Economist
• Science on Guardian Unlimited
• Newsdesk on Guardian Unlimited
It should be kept in mind that podcasts are not merely timeshifted radio – it is a new medium. It obviously shares many aspects, but they are also different. Although I’m a dedicated podcast fanatic, I still need my fix of professionally produced radio. The distinctions used to be clear between podcasting and radio, but it isn’t any more.
The trick, of course, is to choose from the thousands that are available, and narrowing it down.
This got me thinking about podcasts that might be ‘competition’ to Radio 4. The flagship BBC radio station has more than six million listeners on a programme like Today. Almost per definition, podcasts are niche products for targeted audiences, and couldn’t possible compete with such large audiences. For now.
As I considered some examples, the whole question flipped over and I realised it’s a dangerous way to look at it. I will give you some excellent examples, but there are other things to keep in mind as well.
Firstly, podcasts are like Tivo or Sky+, because you can skip parts of the show you don’t like, you never miss the beginning of the show, and you can go back to pieces you like, pause it, and then share it with other people.
Secondly, podcasts are not the only audio that can encroach on radio’s absolute dominance. The audio book market is also growing, and Audible.com now has more then 45 000 books available to download.
Thirdly, podcasts were ‘made famous’ by the iPod, but you don’t need an iPod to listen to them. Any MP3 player will do, and this includes a desktop computer, which is also an MP3 player and widely used for podcasts. In fact, most of the people I know who listen to podcasts do so on their computers, while working.
Lastly, the iPod is almost universal. And it is dangerous to traditional radio because of a little recognised fact: it has no built-in radio. Other MP3 players like those from Sandisk, iRiver, Microsoft or Creative are superior in most ways, including the fact that they have radios. Every person you see with the white earbuds disappearing into their pockets is decidedly NOT listening to radio, whatever else they might be listening to.
So, getting to the point of which podcasts might be ‘competition’ to Radio 4? I listen mostly to technology related podcasts, with some business, marketing and news thrown in. I trawled through my own subscription list, as well as looking for familiar names and the award winners on PodcastAwards.
This Week in Tech (TWiT) produced and presented by Leo Laporte is probably the biggest podcast out there, with a diverse audience.
The Economist has there own audio section, and The Financial Times put out a few podcasts each month on various topics.
There is a Deloitte podcast, and obviously Guardian Unlimited has many podcasts, notably Media Talk, which has a huge following (possibly within the BBC itself).
Apart from the winners mentioned at PodcastAwards, some well known (and well loved) are Keith and the Girl, Democracy Now, Reduced Shakespeare Company and the popular This American Life.
Another great way of discovering competing podcasts is to use iTunes. This software has a built-in podcatcher (software for automatically subscribing to and downloading podcasts), and there is a ‘Podcast’ section in the iTunes Store. The podcast page in iTunes shows information about the podcast (almost all are free), but it also shows five similar podcasts that listeners subscribed to. So, for example, people who subscribes to the BBC’s NewsPod, also subscribed to:
• Great Speeches in History
• Channel 4 Radio News – The Morning Report
• The Economist
• Science on Guardian Unlimited
• Newsdesk on Guardian Unlimited
It should be kept in mind that podcasts are not merely timeshifted radio – it is a new medium. It obviously shares many aspects, but they are also different. Although I’m a dedicated podcast fanatic, I still need my fix of professionally produced radio. The distinctions used to be clear between podcasting and radio, but it isn’t any more.