Reiter's Wireless Podcast Report

Free London business paper to broadcast podcasts via Bluetooth at subway stations

City AM, a free daily business newspaper in London, will broadcast podcasts in two London subway (“undergound”) stations to cellular phones via Bluetooth, according to an item in MoCo.News.

The newspaper is partnering with Titan Transvision screens (see below) set up in the Liverpool and Waterloo stations that will broadcast commercials urging London’s evening commuters to turn on their cellular phones to download the MP3 file of the podcast.

An article in New Media Age says 15–second commercials on the screens will run every two minutes from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.  A maximum of 150 phones can simultaneously download the podcast via Bluetooth.

City AM has offered podcasts that may be downloaded via iTunes on a computer for the past three months.

Speaking at Corporate Podcast Summit, near San Francisco in June

I’m going to be moderating a panel at the Corporate Podcast Summit in Redwood City, Calif. at the Sofitel Hotel, June 20 – 21, 2006 (see below).

My panel in the afternoon on June 20 is about — not surprisingly — wireless podcasting.  One of the speakers is John Mayerhofer, the CEO of VoiceIndigo.  I recently wrote about the company (no, not because Mayerhofer is speaking!).

I think VoiceIndigo’s ability to automatically download podcasts to a cellular phone is a great service although, as I wrote, not everything is perfect with some other features.  It will be interesting to listen to near developments from Mayerhofer and others to be announced at the panel.

VoiceIndigo offers automatic wireless podcast downloads, "click-to" services

VoiceIndigo calls itself a “mobile brand enhancer.” 

What that means is the company offers a podcasting platform that can not only can automatically download podcasts into specific cellular phones but also incorporate "ambient advertising"-based click-to services, such as click-to-call, click-to-request and click-to-buy (see below).

The ability to set podcast subscriptions and then have then downloaded automatically to a phone is a useful service (see below).  Many phones, however, cannot take advantage of it, such as BREW, Windows Mobile and Java.

However, VoiceIndigo is working on versions for the other operating systems.

WAP portal

Any phone that can access WAP and play audio can use VoiceIndigo’s WAP portal.  The WAP portal, however, isn’t very useful, at least to me.

I added my subscriptions on company’s Web site, but there’s no “my subscriptions” menu item for the WAP portal.  You need to search for the podcasts but the search engine couldn’t find any of the podcasts that I selected, ant that were right in front of me on my computer screen.

I then went to VoiceIndigo’s own list of podcasts and looked at the “Technology and Science” category.  I selected a podcast to download but “page too large” came up on the Samsung A920 flip phone I was using.

Podcasts are also divided into chapters so can can download it chapter by chapter.  However, when I closed the  Samsung’s cover to listen to the podcast, it stopped and I was thrown back into the main list of applications.

Advice

If you have a phone that works with VoiceIndigo’s own application — typically a Symbian OS — try it.  That goes for Melodeo’s Mobilcast Network downloaded phone application as well.

If you’re using WAP or Java, though, you might prefer Pod2Mob’s.  Pod2Mob includes a “Favorites” item for all the subscriptions you’ve selected and the podcasts stream just fine.

No need to download a file — that’s too large for your phone — although I can certainly see the advantages of downloading podcasts..

A problem

I have found one problem, though, with Pod2Mob’s Java streaming app.  Every 30 seconds or so the podcast stutters for a second. 

I don't know whether it's a Pod2Mob or a Sprint network problem.  It’s not a deal-killer but it is somewhat annoying.

Rob Greeenlee of Melodeo posts mp3 file of Podcast Hotel on podcast future

Rob Greenlee, senior marketing manager at Melodeo, has posted a link to an mp3 file of a panel he was on at the Podcast on the Floor conference where he and other panelists discussed “Podcasting Today and Tomorrow.”

Melodeo's senior marketing manager discusses wireless podcasting service

Rob Greenlee, the senior marketing manager for Melodeo, discusses his company’s wireless podcasting platform, Mobilcast, as well as issues related to Mobilcast’s offerings.

Rob spoke at the April meeting of the Seattle Podcasting Network and an mp3 file of his presentation is available online.

Business Week examines podcasts + commercials over cellular

Business Week reports on the tremendous potential of cellular phones for podcasts and also the potential for advertising on podcasts.

The article discusses companies focusing on offering podcasts for cellular phones, including Pod2Mobile, Melodeo’s Mobilcast network and a new company, UpSnap (see below).

“With UpSnap, which launched 100 free mobile podcasts on March 27, you can simply dial a number to listen to your program from your phone,” the article says. 

“In a few weeks, the service will also allow users to get podcasts to their phones wirelessly by sending UpSnap a text message.  Rival Pod2Mob allows for the text message feature and has built a user base in excess of 100,000 since its launch last summer.”

Podcast advertising

Business Week says the domain name seller of GoDaddy is interested in exploring advertising over podcasts.  Barbara Rechterman, the executive vice president of GoDaddy says in the article, “The cell phone will become the next podcast-listening device.”

For the past two months the independent music retailer of CD Baby has been advertising on podcasts over cellular phones.  CD Baby has been running 15–second commercials with its $1,000–a-month ad budget.  That’s half of its advertising budget.

Derek Sivers, CD Baby’s owner, says in the article that the commercials’ results “are right in line with traditional advertising.  And I just like the idea of targeting people who are online already and interested in listening to MP3 files.  That's our target market.”

Better ads on cellular?

Business Week suggests that ads on cellular phones could be more interesting and generate a greater response that ads for non-cellular broadcasts. 

The article says, “As with a video iPod, a cell phone ad can feature audio, graphics, or video. With a phone, though, a user can immediately respond by calling a marketer's call center or by wirelessly surfing the advertiser's Web site.”

It will be interesting to see whether consumers accept ads on wireless podcasts.  Since you’re typically listening to a wireless podcast for a shorter time than when you’re sitting in an office, on a plane or in a hotel room, the ads should be, perhaps, shorter.

Billboard magazine reports growth of podcasts hampered by lack of DRM

Billboard magazine's headline proclaims "Podcasts Coming of Age," but not if the record labels have anything to do with it.

The article, reported by Antony Bruno, formerly assistant vice president of wireless Internet development at the CTIA Wireless Internet Caucus, and now editor for digital/mobile at Billboard, says music is considered the killer app for podcasts.

Antony writes, however, "To date, the major labels have been reticent to license full-track songs to the podcasting community because podcasts are downloaded files free of digital rights management protection."

Go away!

In a few instances, songs are allowed in podcasts.  For example, public radio station KCRW can include in its podcasts songs that are recorded in its studio.  The station also offers video podcasts.

"But the music in these podcasts is limited to what is recorded in the studio or from independent acts.  Getting full-track studio cuts of major-label content is next to impossible," the article says.

Billboard quotes Jennifer Ferro, assistant general manager of KCRW, as saying, "The major labels aren’t interested in digital distribution or promotion through podcasting.  I think they’re waiting for it to go away."

I've written previously about Rhapsody Radio offering podcasts by KCRW for subscribers to Rhapsody's wireless service.

Huge market

The potential for advertising over podcasts is huge, according to the article.  "A recent eMarketer report predicted that podcast advertising spending will increase from an estimated $80 million this year to $300 million by 2010.

"Venture capitalists at Sequoia Capital — which participated in the $8.85 million funding of podcasting pioneer PodShow — say the market could grow to as much as $2 billion in the next five years."

Advertising revenues are based upon a large number of listeners.  Bridge Research estimates that nine million people listen to podcasts today.  By 2010 that number could increase to 12 million listeners in the United States.

Wireless podcasting

Antony writes a bit about wireless podcasting, including Pod2Mobile and Melodeo's Mobilcast, but he doesn't discuss the business opportunities in wireless.

The reason I started "Reiter's Wireless Podcast Report" is because I believe podcasting to (and from) wireless devices -- whether it's music or talk -- can generate revenues for the wireless industry.  Revenues can include advertising or subscriptions.

If you've been reading this weblog you know the wireless industry doesn't see podcasting as a big deal -- certainly not compared to wireless music, games and imaging.

Consider the possibilities

But with more than half the population of the U.S. carrying cellular phones and almost two billion cellular phones worldwide, you can't help but ponder the possibilities for wireless podcasting.

Pod2Mobile debuts advertising platform for wireless podcasting

Pod2Mobile today announced a platform for including advertising in podcasts and other audio programs for cellular phones.  The platform “offers a matrix of statistical data to the advertiser about where their ads were heard and by how many people, among other information,” the company's press release says.

Here’s what Pod2Mob’s advertising software/service offers:

“*  Audio ads (up to 20 seconds) at the beginning of each podcast

“*  Podcast and Category targeting for audio ads

“*  Advertiser control panel for easy campaign creation and content upload

“*  Stat tracking (demographical and time-based) for graphical ad click-through ratios

“*  Stat tracking (demographical and time-based) for audio ad delivery

“*  Easy and cost-effective means to launch advertising campaign

“*  Ads can be submitted and broadcast in 24 hours or less using the automated insertion functionality

“*  Podcast specific graphical ads

“*  Demographic (age & gender) based graphical ads

“*  Category-based graphical ads”

Advertising makes sense

I believe advertising on podcasts via cellular phones makes sense.  This assume, however, that the advertising is geared to the length of the podcast.

If you’re listening to a five minute podcast, you don’t want to hear a two minute commercial.  Perhaps consumers are willing to listen to a 15 second commercial before the podcast and perhaps another 15 second commercial in the middle or end.

I suspect the optimum length for podcasts on cellular phones is three to 15 minutes.  For a longer podcast, there could be a few more commercials.

Advertising versus subscription fees

Today, cellular operators generally don’t offer podcasts or offer only a limited number.  Sprint offers a few podcasts through audio subscriptions to MSpot and Rhapsody Radio, as I’ve previously written.

The MSpot and Rhapsody subscriptions include a variety of programs, of which only one channel includes podcasts — and the selection and timeliness of those podcasts leave much to be desired.

I continue to believe podcasts have a future for the cellular industry, although there hasn’t been a lot of activity, as a blog posting from Melodeo’s “Mobile Podcasting” weblog recently noted. 

Cellular operators or not

I’m very glad to see more activity in the wireless podcast environment.  Cellular operators aren’t going to be interested in podcasting unless they believe there’s enough money in the offering.

Of course, wireless podcasting doesn’t require the intervention of operators.  Pod2Mob and Mobilcast offer a directory of podcasts and ways to stream or download them.

And, because podcasts are typically simple .mp3 files, any cellular phone with a music player that can receive external files (via a cable, Bluetooth, memory card) can play a podcast without over-the-air downloads.

Perhaps one or more of the major content providers will get excited about wireless podcasting and launch a marketing effort, with or without their own commercials.

Pod2Mob’s rates

Courtesy of a comment today by Eriks (thank you), I see Pod2Mob’s advertising rates for podcasting.

Melodeo's Mobilcast to offer 45 NPR podcasts for cellular phones

Melodeo’s Mobilcast wireless podcasting system will enable cellular phone users to listen to 45 National Public Radio (NPR) podcasts under a deal by both organizations announced today.

NPR offers a large number of podcasts and the Melodeo agreement makes it easier to users of cellular phones (those supported by Melodeo’s software) to access the radio network’s broadcasts.  Melodeo is creating a branded channel for NPR podcasts, according to the Mobilcast press release.

The Mobilcast/NPR arrangement also offers podcasts from NPR station KCRW in Santa Monica.

Alternative methods

Of course, cellular users whose phones can accept .mp3 files could listen to the NPR podcasts by downloading the files into their phones via a computer cable, Bluetooth connection or a memory card.

Another way to listen to podcasts — including NPR’s — is by using Pod2Mobile’s streaming service via its WAP or Java client software.  I listen to NPR Technology podcasts all the time on my multimedia phones.

However, I test many Sprint phones, such as the Samsung A920 and the A900, and Mobilcast’s software doesn’t yet work on those phones via Sprint.

A big deal

An entry in Mobilcast’s “Mobile Podcasting” weblog alerted me that some announcement would occur today at 9:00 a.m. (EST).  The entry by Melodeo’s Rob Greenlee says, “It is a big time content deal for us and one that should really help establish the future of podcast listening on mobile phones.”

Rob wrote about podcasting and public radio (but not about today’s announcement) in an entry he posted on March 1.

The more publicity about wireless podcasting products, technologies and solution — the better.  Mobilcast isn’t the only way to listen to podcasts over cellular, as I’ve noted, but it’s one more way to facilitate wireless podcasting.

Melodeo's Rob Greenlee discusses lack of podcast buzz at SXSW conference

Rob Greenlee, senior marketing manager at mobile podcast company Melodeo, discusses how the hype about podcasting has died down in his article on the “Mobile Podcasting” weblog.

Rob discusses his experiences at the South by Southwest conference and here’s one of his comments in response to a question about what was the most noteworthy podcasting/video podcasting product he saw or heard at the conference.

Rob says:

“I was surprised how little it was actually discussed at SXSW.  The media hype and buzz have sure dropped off about it.  The other was Chris Pirillo's comments during my Podcasting 2.0 session where he talked about NPR killing Podcasting with quality and that anyone should not podcast.

“While these comments may have some thread of truth, it tells me that things have not changed as much as we might all think as it relates to radio or audio.  The same major media sources are starting to dominate the gathering of large audiences in podcasting, but I believe that we are still going to see long-tail podcast content creation continue to explode.

“I think you just need to reflect on the growth of blogs to see this happen with podcasting.

“I also believe that we will see more interactivity and two way conversation come to podcasting.  We will also continue to see other creative ways podcasts are used and the variety and depth of content will keep expanding.”