Report: Podcasts Enjoying Boom

Podcasts began as an outgrowth of the Apple iPod, as a tool to bring original programming to the once hugely popular MP3 device. But it was cumbersome to get the shows. Most were housed at the iTunes Music Store and you had to download the show to your computer, plug in your iPod, then transfer it.

According to Ralking Tech’s Jefferosn Graham at USAToday, the rise in smartphones and the ability to access podcasts without wires has changed that, and greatly expanded the audience. Additionally, new apps to listen to podcasts directly beyond iTunes — including TuneIn Radio, SoundCloud, Stitcher and iHeartRadio — "gave podcasts an entirely new audience," says Allen Weiner, an analyst with Gartner.

Many new cars have Bluetooth connections, which play audio from a smartphone directly through car speakers without having to be plugged in.

That podcasts had the potential to chip away at traditional radio listening was clearly noticed at Clear Channel, the nation's largest radio broadcaster. In July, it added podcasts to its iHeartRadio service.

Podcasting is still a "small portion of overall listening, but we need to invest in it," says Brian Lakamp, Clear Channel's president of digital. "We need to be wherever consumers are."

As part of the new initiative, Clear Channel struck a deal with start-up Spreaker to let consumers record their own podcasts from home and submit them to iHeart alongside professionally produced shows from ABC News, National Public Radio and Ryan Seacrest.

Start-up BlogTalkRadio has a similar feature, offering free Web tools to let anyone record a show, using their telephones as microphones, and a Web platform to bring on guests and callers.

BlogTalk CEO Alan Levy says he's attracting 40 million listeners monthly — but not all at his site. He shares his stuff out to iTunes, TuneIn Radio and other platforms — many listeners come from Facebook and Twitter.

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