9.2 Million Downloaded Podcasts

Online media metrics firm Nielsen//NetRatings released a Podcast report, which stated that 6.6 percent of the US adult population, or 9.2 million Web users have recently downloaded an audio podcast; 4 percent, or 5.6 million, have downloaded a video podcast.

The Youth Curve

New technologies are often driven by youth. Statistics show that young people are more likely than their older counterparts to engage in audio or video podcasting.

Web users between the ages 18 and 24 are nearly twice as likely as the average Web user to download audio podcasts, followed by users in the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups, who were also more likely than the average Web user to do audio podcasting.

But what’s more telling than the numbers, is who is downloading podcasts. This isn’t your father’s medium.

Podcast Listener Snapshot:

• Between the ages of 18 and 44
• Uses Apple’s Safari or Mozilla Firefox to browse
• For audio, visits Macworld, Lycos Wired News, Slashdot, Niketown.com, Apple and iTunes, more likely in the 18-24 age group
• For video, visits StarTrek.com, Live365.com, Fark.com, eMusic, and Niketown.com, more likely in the 25-34 age group

Michael Lanz, an analyst for Nielsen//NetRatings believes this target will expand as portable media becomes more popular. “The portability of podcasts makes them especially appealing to young, on-the-go audiences,” said Lanz. “We can expect to see podcasting become increasingly popular as portable content media players proliferate.”

Podcasters Know Apple

Since the popularity of Apple’s iPod is largely responsible for the spread of podcasting, not surprisingly podcasters enjoy using Apple products and visiting Apple Web sites.

When you look at Podcasts as a mass market it is defined by an upwardly mobile hipster that enjoys technology. In the Powersports market it is defined by both the young and old enthusiasts that are finding content that is developed specifically for them.Jeff Najar, Chief Marketer