Podcast.com News

It may be hard to believe (wink wink), but more people are using the Internet and cellphones to get their entertainment, no longer satisfied to sit in front of the television and to let the TV networks decide what should be watched. Crain’s, a New York research company, said that as of December 2007, the major TV networks’ prime-time ratings in the key 18- to 49-year-old age category were all down: at NBC by 11%, at CBS by 10% and at ABC by 5%.

So where are the 18- to -49-year-olds going? I think you already know. Instead of watching television and listening to the radio, Deloitte & Touche reports:

• 38% of Americans are watching TV shows online.
• 36% use their cell phones for entertainment.

Not only that, but everyday people are creating entertainment, including podcasts, for everyone else to watch and listen to:

• 54% of those surveyed said they are creating their own entertainment content by editing photos, videos or music.
• 45% are making the content for others to see.
• 32% think of themselves as “broadcasters’ of their own media.

Your TV shows are on the Internet, your movies are on the Internet, your music and radio is on the Internet … I think there’s a trend here. The world is changing, and we’re all changing with it — that’s why you’re here at Podcast.com. Hooray for us in ‘08!

All of us here have been Last.FM users for a while because it’s a great community service for recommending music. Recently we started noticing podcasts showing up in peoples’ charts on Last.FM, and it intrigued us enough to create a new Podcast.com profile. If you are a podcaster or if you have been listening to podcasts on Last.FM, give us a buzz through our profile and we can start listening to those/your podcasts.  Or if you’re neither of those and would just like to be our friend, drop us a message. Podcastic!

Recently, the Independent Newspaper website in the UK asked questions about the issues behind traditional media and the brave (not so) new world of social media.

Kevin Marks, from Technorati has a reply which made us chuckle:

“I didn’t download any, Tim. My computer downloaded 4 episodes for me from different shows, and when I plugged my iPod in, it synchronised them so I had something to listen to. That’s the whole point.”