Is The Podcast Bubble Here?
Sep 29th, 2006 | By James Lewin | Category: Audio Podcasting, Corporate Podcasts, Making Money with Podcasts, Podcasting NetworksJason Calacanis, CEO of the blogging network Weblogs, Inc., thinks that Podshow raising another $15 million in venture capital means that the podcast bubble is here:
Lest there be no question, we are now in a full-blown bubble. What on earth Podshow is going to do with almost $25M in funding is anyones guess, but its not going to end well I can tell you that. To raise this money they must have had a $35-60M pre-money valuation. That means the VCs are going to look for a $300-500M exit at the very least, and that means they need to get to $30-50M in revenue. Not sure I see that happening.
The entire concept is that this is niche media–you dont need a lot of money. Weblogs, Inc. raised low six figures from Mark Cuban and we never spent it–we made money.
Unless Podshow is looking to do a rollup which is what Ron and Adam were involved in during the last bubble this is gonna end badly. Id love to believe a podcasting business could grow to a billion dollars–but I just dont.
It is unbelievably ironic that Mr. Calacanis’s rant immediately follows the post concerning GoDaddy’s ad campaign utilizing “FrenchMaidTV”. He obviously doesn’t get podcasting’s extraordinary potential as a completely new advertising model delivered to a micro-targeted audience.
I love this quote from the other article;
–Parsons isn‚Äôt the only CEO intent on connecting with the French Maids. Mark McCrery, Podtrac‚Äôs CEO and co-founder explains. ‚ÄúFrench Maid TV‚Äôs GoDaddy.com video podcast episode represents a new advertising format where the podcast takes product placement to a new level.‚Äù
Product placement, entertaining instructional tutorials, celebrity showcases, avante garde direction, low cost productions producing high penetration in an on demand delivery format that is free from the restrictions of the FCC and television’s increasingly stifling moral perspective.
The timing of the development of this technology has coincided perfectly with the mass adoption of broadband, the proliferation of the the iPod and other MP3 players and the growing consumer awareness of their ability to control their personal viewing schedules ala Tivo and DVR’s.
Put simply, podcasting is the verge of becoming the most explosive technological development ever developed for the internet and mobile phones.
Erik
Good points.
We try to capture a range of opinions on podcasting topics, even if we don’t agree with them.
Your ‘high penetration’ comment makes me think that you’re keeping abreast the seminal work they are doing at French Maid TV with horizontal nichecasting.
Exactly!
In regards to French maids, I don’t think you can get to a level of explosive development without high penetration!
Yours,
Erik