It sounds like podcasting is getting more mainstream these days if I’m reading this article on Advertising Age correctly. It looks like more major companies are directing ad dollars to audio content that consumers want and can get whenever they want. Only makes sense to me.
But a more Long Tail business has started to form within the more fragmented sectors of iTunes, which loosened its policy on ads in podcasts in 2005. Chris Spencer, CEO of Wizzard Media, a podcasting network with more than 35 video and audio podcasts in its stable, values the podcast-specific ad market at about $100 million. The figure comes closer to $300 million after streaming video is included in the mix, though he said it’s difficult to gauge the specifics. “It is growing faster than anyone — especially the big TV networks — believed would happen,” he said.