PodShow has officially announced that it has changed its name to Mevio. Along with this announcement, the company announced updates to its site.

The name change has been greeted with skepticism by many podcasters, and there’s already a “Mevio” entry in the Urban Dictionary.:

The act of renaming a company / business, thinking that the new name will make up for fact the business model was either flawed or poorly executed.

That Web 2.0 company just laid-off 25% of their staff and now they are going to Mevio their name in hopes of bringing in new investors.

According to Mevio, though, there’s more to the name change than just rebranding. They say that the name change “is the culmination of PodShow’s transition to a complete broadband entertainment network for the social Web.”

Mevio Distancing Itself From Indie Podcasters

One of the reasons for the name change is that the company is trying to distance itself from amateur content and the term “podcasting.” The company is now focusing on distributing professionally produced shows.

“We have never believed in user-generated content as a business, or even as a sustainable entertainment offering,” said Ron Bloom, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, MEVIO.

“Our combination of premier, high quality content with a growing and return audience gives brand advertisers the kind of online viewer engagement that they are hard-pressed to find anywhere else on the Web,” said Adam Curry, co-founder and President of MEVIO.

Site Updates

With the name change, the company has announced changes to its site, including:

MEVIO “Smart Channels”:

• Users can create their own “channels of Mevio content. MEVIO Channels can feature shows, episodes, clips, audio or video.
• Users can select from MEVIO-created channels, create their own Smart-Channels, or play and subscribe to channels created by other users.
• Public/Private: MEVIO Channels can be private for personal use, or public to be subscribed to by others.

MEVIO PPG (Personalized Program Guides):

• MEVIO Personalized Program Guides are designed to help you discover programming in broad or targeted categories.
• MEVIO’s advance administration tools let Personalized Program Guides be created and managed by MEVIO editors or by any user.

MEVIO MashBoard:

• Channel Player/ Widget: MEVIO’S MashBoard plays channels, clips, audio and video in multiple formats. Users can program their player to play personalized channels, or MEVIO’s picks and specials.

MEVIO Share:

• MEVIO Share lets users create channels and share them with their friends or select a particular show or clip as it is playing and share it on the spot. Users can import their address books and invite all of their friends to “tune in”.

MEVIO For Advertisers:

• Brand-safe channels and networks deliver large scale audiences against desirable demographics.
• Vertical Networks targeting specific demographics.
• Full range of advertiser integration, including traditional ad inserts, companion programming, page takeovers, network promotions, product placement, host endorsements and custom production.