1. Introduction to
Podcasting and Online
Audio
MAC 196 – Week Three

2. Radio and Audio Platforms
 Broadcast Radio
 Analogue – FM/AM/LW/SW
 Digital – DAB / DTV
 Online streaming
 Live
 On-demand
 Podcasting
 Is a “medium” AND a distribution “platform”

3. Digital Radio Listening

4. Online Spaces
 Programme Webpages, micro-sites and blogs
 Programme Billings
 Audio Archives
 Additional Content
 Social Media
 Interact with the audience
 Share content with friends

5. What do we mean by Multiplatform?
 In more than one space – but with content that is
appropriate for that space.
 Video streams, web documentaries, podcasts, 360
content
The Bottom Line: Radio 4/BBC News BBC Radio 1‟s Big Weekend

6. The Long Tail
FM
DAB
Online & Podcasting

7. Podcasting is….
 Online content, consumed on-demand – often on a
portable device
 Usually audio – mostly MP3 – but could also be video
 Distributed on an ongoing basis to subscribers using RSS
 Is a converged medium
 Is also a ( fairly level) distribution platform
 Shifts content in time and place
 “Time-shifting” / “place-shifting”

8. BBC Click – July 2011

9. Comparing Radio to Podcasts
RADIO is… PODCASTS ARE…
 Live  On-demand
 Synchronous  Asynchronous
 Mass-audience  In niche formats/genres
 Regulated  Un-regulated
 A “push medium”  A “pull medium”
 A linear medium  Non-linear

10. Digital Listening- MIDAS (2010)
 2.2 million smartphone owners have downloaded a radio
app
 16.3 million* listeners claim to have ever listened to
radio via the internet
 12.7 million adults have used a Listen Again service

11. Listening to Podcasts - MIDAS
 8.1 million adults (16% of the adult 15+ population) claim to have
ever downloaded a podcast. Almost half of podcast users (44%)
claim to listen to podcasts at least once a week but only 24% of
users find the time to listen to all the podcasts they download.
 76% said that listening to podcasts had no impact on their live
radio listening habits, while 30% say that they now listen to radio
programmes to which they did not listen previously.
 The typical podcast user subscribes to just under 5 podcasts, and
spent just under an hour in the last week listening to them. As in
previous surveys, comedy and music remain the two favourite
genres.
 77% of podcast users listen to podcasts at home, and 50% listen
in the car or on public transport.

12. Types of Podcasts
 Listen Again
 Converged media content
 Online only content from linear broadcasters
 Public Sector / Information
 Independent Mainstream
 Independent non-mainstream

13. The Infinite Dial: 2012

14. Why Podcasts?

15. Making Multiplatform…
 Content that flows across more than one platform
 How are you using other spaces?
 Shows that exist on TV and Radio – like BBC Click
 Shows that have been built with the internet in mind
 Million Pound Drop Live
 Multiplatform events – such as the Olympics or
Glastonbury
 Live content on TV and Radio
 Updates via apps and the web
 Support information online and via „red button‟

16. Exercise
 Think of pre-existing product, TV show or magazine and
think about how you could make a Podcast to go
alongside it.
 What would it do?
 What would be in the podcast?
 Come up with some ideas for features, regular items
 How does it reflect or build the brand it services?