Arbitron Report on Podcasting

Here is the link to Arbitron’s highlights of the report: The Infinite Dial 2008: Radio’s Digital Platforms. Here are the interesting points I found in the actual Edison Research slide deck.

• Slide 27 -iPod/MP3 player ownership continues to grow by 20 plus percent per year across all ages.
• Slide 30 – When I do the math on the slide, of the 35 percent of the people who actually own iPod/MP3 players, 28% are listening to radio less. The title of the slide is “Only 10% Report Less Radio Listening due to Time Spent with iPod/MP3 Player.” We are both correct, however. It just depends on how you look at it and who you are “selling” your report to. Refer to slide 27, if you are in the traditional radio business.
• Slide 34 -The numbers keep going up. More people are consuming audio podcasts as more people buy iPods or MP3 players. Although the number is up five percent from last year, surprisingly, only 18 percent of people have ever listened to a podcast. I see this as good news. There is still LOTS of room for this industry to grow. That’s why I’m here.
• There are some interesting conclusions at the end that seem a little defensive about traditional radio, but point to the in-roads, new media, social media, and hardware convergence are all making in the broader media landscape.
• Comments were turned off on the Edison Media page.   I have to wonder why…

In the past month, two people I know personally have made the huge leap, leaving full time jobs so they can devote all their time and effort to new media. Congrats to Carrie and Debba. I’m proud to know these pioneers. This report points to your future success.