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Nielsen: Podcasts More Popular than Blogging

Jul 12th, 2006 | By | Category: Audio Podcasting, iPods & Portable Media Players, Podcasting Research, Podcasting Statistics

Nielsen//NetRatings announced today that 6.6 percent of the U.S. adult online population, or 9.2 million Web users, have recently downloaded an audio podcast. 4.0 percent, or 5.6 million Web users, have recently downloaded a video podcast.

These figures put the podcasting population on a par with those who publish blogs, 4.8 percent, and online daters, 3.9 percent. To put this in perspective, though, Nielsen notes that podcasting is not nearly as popular as paying bills online, 51.6 percent, or online job hunting, 24.6 percent.

“The portability of podcasts makes them especially appealing to young, on-the-go audiences,” said Michael Lanz, analyst, Nielsen//NetRatings. “We can expect to see podcasting become increasingly popular as portable content media players proliferate,” he continued.

Young people are more likely than their older counterparts to engage in audio or video podcasting. Web users between the ages 18 and 24 are nearly twice as likely as the average Web user to download audio podcasts, followed by users in the 25-34 and 35-44 age groups, who were also more likely than the average Web user to do audio podcasting.Video podcasters trended a little older, with 25-34 year olds indexing the highest. Web users above the age of 45 were less likely than average to engage in podcasting of either sort.

Apple Users Have Head Start with Podcasts

Among audio podcast listeners, Macworld is the No. 1 most-visited content site. Apple and iTunes are the No. 2 and 3 e-commerce sites visited by audio podcasters. The Apple connection is not as clear for video podcasters, who flock to Startrek.com among content sites. Live365.com and eMusic are the two most popular e-commerce sites for video podcasters.

“Competitors to the iPod are now in the marketplace, but Apple got a big head start,” said Lanz. “It will take time before other portable media players make significant in-roads with the early-adopters who are currently podcasting,” he continued.

Source: Nielsen

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