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Why bloggers and podcasters should be happy about a Comcast/NBC deal

The report that Comcast has been discussing a deal to buy 51% of NBC Universal is good news for bloggers and podcasters.

It is evidence that a company with wires into hundreds of thousands of households sees the future online.  Comcast saw its broadband sign ups last quarter nearly double from a year ago as people turn to the Internet for more and more of their information and entertainment.

You might argue that getting a lock on NBC programming is a defensive move.  Even though the network’s audience has been shrinking ever since Seinfeld had his last cup of coffee at Monk’s Cafe (aka Tom’s Restaurant in real life), NBC shows attract millions of viewers a night.  Consider like ‘30 Rock’ and ‘Trauma’ as loss leaders to build foot traffic for Comcast’s other programming, its owned cable channels.  They include the Golf Channel, E!, and lots of sports.  NBC, on the other hand has cable, too, including Bravo, CNBC, and USA Networks.  (Photo courtesy of Flickr.)

A few decades ago, the Big Three networks owned it all.  Now, cable channels targeting cooks, gardeners, gays, farmers, and gamers are vacuuming up advertising dollars.  And, soon, the Internet.  In the UK, Net advertising already eclipses TV ad dollars.

While the average TV household watches ‘only’ 17 of the several hundred channels available, that's 500% more than when there were just NBC, ABC, and CBS. The growth has come from special interest programming.

And what is online audio and video? Nothing but special interest programming.  You offer me high-protein programming about Macintoshes, digital photography, and start-up investing opportunities, and I’m there.  Goodbye CBS shows or, at least, get me a DVR that records three shows at the same time for later viewing.

The point is that there are more than 125,000 podcasts available on iTunes.  Many could be aggregated into special interest channels, and programmed into a 24/7 wheel of audio or video.

If Comcast or any cable company is going to grow, the challenge it faces is to bring more people into the tent at the same time that those people have more narrow interests in content. 

I think Comcast is recognizing that tomorrow’s cable channels are today's Netcasts.  By adding NBC’s mass appeal programming and niche channels, the number one cable company’s strategy is to grow its subscriber numbers by constantly promoting of its ‘old’ cable channels and to fertilize the green shoots of a thousand more 'new' flowering programmers.

Morning News 'Pack-o-Podcasts'

Listening to music or an iPod while you run is nothing new.  Millions of people do it.  Even my minister. I know because I gave him an iPod for Christmas last year. And I virtually gave up radio while commuting, in favor of hearing podcasts using a cassette-adapter in the car. 

Now I’ve gone a step further. Well, several thousand steps further. On my morning run, I catch up with the overnight news via podcasts.  I stack up a few favorites that total about 25 minutes. I created a “Morning News” Smart Playlist on my iPod so that when the shows download they go into that folder. It's easy then to  sync them to my Shuffle.   

My morning “pack ‘o podcasts” is:

•     Wall Street Journal Tech Briefing
•     Front Page Preview of The New YorkTimes
•     Cynopsis Digital (tech news)

    So far, I haven’t been able to find a good Sports update.  Anyone have a suggestion.

These short-form podcasts, from reliable and specialized information providers really give new meaning to the phrase “News on Demand.”

Podtrac hopes new tool gets advertisers comfortable

Podtrac has introduced an online service to make it easier for advertising agencies to find the right podcast for their clients. 

The Podtrac Media Planner lets buyers sample content from more than 4,000 audio and video podcasts and to order a menu of shows that could reach their customized requirements.

At left, a screenshot of the Planner which lets advertisers specify the demographics of their target audience.) Click the graphic for a larger version.

"We've surveyed over 70,000 podcast listeners, and we update that data every quarter," said Mark McCrery, Washington, DC-based Podtrac's CEO and co-founder. "We're able to provide the buyers data in a form with which they are familiar.”  The presentation is similar to a common industry consumer guide, Mediamark's Survey of the American Consumer.

In an interview, the founder of the firm which connects podcasters and advertisers characterized the shows as serial content. "The advertiser is endorsing or sponsoring this specific (podcast) and it's important that he have a good idea about what it's going to be,” McCrery said. Since many podcasts have themes like technology, travel, or movies, they draw an audience with some predictable interests. Banner ads or text ads on a Web page do not, he said.

A source close to the company said some of this year’s advertising buys were made by "mavericks" in the companies' marketing divisions.  The effectiveness, or return on investment, for podcast advertising is very difficult to measure but they were willing to experiment.  McCrery hopes his Media Planner will help marketers become comfortable with podcasts as an option.

That's one of the reasons McCrery began collecting listener data more than a year ago. So he can show marketers the same kind of numbers they see when they buy other media.  The Podtrac Media Planner is another response to "speak to advertisers in their own language,” McCrery said.

In the past year, McCrery's put a number of brand name advertisers into his network of programs.  Dell Computer, AT&T, and HBO are among them.  One of the next big sponsors for Podtrac will be Viacom's (VIA) Paramount Pictures.

Listen to Podtrac's Mark McCrery talk about  the challenge of selling podcast advertising.

Disclaimer: I own shares of Viacom.