Abstract
Overview
Podcast offers on the net have particularly improved over the last few months.
Early 2007, the number of podcasts on the World Wide Web was estimated at over
100,000, when only two years ago, there were less than 10,000. Based on
technologies, tools and equipment designed by computer, Internet and CE
experts, podcasting has whet the appetite of the majority of media veteran
players and appears to have won the popularity vote among web users.
Nonetheless, new technology is spouting and coming up against fierce
competition from other media players (downloading applications, mobile TV and
radio) who pursue similar objectives.
This report aims to gain a better grasp of what this new technology actually
involves, the (current and potential) market that it represents as well as the
strategic developments that this market could pose for media and telecom
players.
Key questions
- What are the current solutions available to produce, distribute and
receive podcasts?
- What are the pros and cons of podcasting compared with other methods of
broadcasting audio and video content?
- Should podcasting be viewed as a full-fledged media?
- How much headway has this technology made among web users?
- What are the main characteristics of the podosphere in 2007?
- What exactly are the obstacles and sources of development for podcasting?
- What are the strategic implications that would entice legacy players of
media and telecom industries to massively embark on this technology?
- What advertising revenue is expected in the European podcasting industry
from now until 2012?
Who should read this report?
- Media and telecom players
- Acquire a general overview of the podosphere at the end of 2006
- Assess the potential of podcasting and the revenue that can be generated
in the medium term through expansion
- Measure the impact of expansion on the industry
- Advertisers from the marketing sector
- Maximise the marketing value of podcasting
- Acquire a general overview of the podosphere at the end of 2006
- Pinpoint medium-term market trends
- Institutions, investors and analysts
- Clearly define podcasting
- Analyse the competitive landscape of the podcasting industry
- Pinpoint medium-term market trends
- Identify development opportunities in podcasting
Players/services
- Apple
- Archos
- Creative
- Digital Podcast
- FireAnt
- Google Reader
- iTunes
- Juice
- Nokia
- Orange
- Podcast Alley
- Podemus
- TenTelecom
- Vlogdir
Table of Contents
1. Introduction
2. What is podcasting?
- 2.1 Definition
- Technical definition
- An entirely separate media?
- 2.2 Tools, technologies and applications
- 2.2.1. How to create and publish podcasts
- 2.2.2. How to listen to and view podcasts
- Podcast aggregators
- Digital players
3. Podcasting: a fad or an emerging market?
- 3.1 Characteristics of podcast offers on the Net
- 3.1.1. Podcast offers are soaring
- 3.1.2. Highly diversified offers
- 3.1.3. Increasingly varied ways to access podcast offers
- Podcast directories
- Podcast aggregators
- Video aggregators
- Other reader tools
- 3.2 Observations in the world of podcasting
- Podcast user profiles at the end of 2006
- How is podcasting being used?
- Digital player equipment levels and usage
- 3.3 The podcasting economy
- 3.3.1. Areas of podcasting application
- 3.3.2. Podcasting business models
- Costs to create and distribute podcasts
- Are there financing opportunities for podcasts?
4. Development prospects for podcasting in the medium term
- 4.1 Anticipated trends
- Some progress made in PC/PMP synchronization
- Portable multimedia players and "smartphones": increasingly high quality
devices
- Podcasts: real multimedia
- Mobile podcasting
- Should there be a link between podcasting and P2P?
- 4.2 Development factors and roadblocks
- Licenses required for copyrights and related rights
- Measuring the podcast audience: a tough but necessary task
- Perfecting advertising techniques
- A market driven by offers from major media players
- Making podcasts easier to use: a requirement...
- 4.3 Development prospects from now until 2012
- Podcasting' s key differentiators in the content distribution market
- Changes in the ecosystem
- Podcasting roadmap
- 4.4 Conclusion: Podcasting market opportunities
- Reality check: What is the podcasting advertising potential?
- Podcasting as a concept rather than a service
- A window of opportunity in a long-term strategy
Tables and Figures
Tables:
- Table 1: Different iPod models
- Table 2: Number of podcasts produced by country at the end of 2006
- Table 3: Examples of podcast directories
- Table 4: Examples of video podcast directories
- Table 5: Examples of podcast aggregators
- Table 6: Major video-centric RSS readers
- Table 7: Examples of digital media players and PMP available on the market
at the end of 2007
Figures:
- Figure 1: Podcasting cycle
- Figure 2: iTunes interface to read podcasts
- Figure 3: FeedBurner Managed Podcast and Videocast Feeds
- Figure 4: Thematic podcasts monitored by FeedBurner
- Figure 5: iTunes Store/Podcast home page
- Figure 6: Podemus' home page
- Figure 7: Google Reader
- Figure 8: FireANT, video RSS aggregator dedicated to vlogging
- Figure 9: European Internet activities in 2005
- Figure 10: United States: interest in new audiovisual equipment
- Figure 11: Annual worldwide sales of iPods
- Figure 12: United States: iPod penetration by age group
- Figure 13: Penetration of digital hard disk audio video players into
households in the United States
- Figure 14: 3G telephone penetration
- Figure 15: Percentage of media budgets allocated to new media by American
advertisers
- Figure 16: MobilCast software/service interface
- Figure 17: The widget Odeoplayer for Mac OS
- Figure 18: Key podcasting characteristics
- Figure 19: Changes in the podcasting ecosystem
- Figure 20: Podcasting roadmap
- Figure 21: Evaluation of potential podcast advertising in the Europe of
the 25
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