Podcast data miners hit paydirt

Buried in the sexy hardware and software announcements of last week’s WWDC was a golden nugget: A new version of Apple’s Podcasts app. The update is pretty monumental, as it offers, for the first ...

Buried in the sexy hardware and software announcements of last week’s WWDC was a golden nugget: A new version of Apple’s Podcasts app.

Podcast data miners hit paydirt

The update is pretty monumental, as it offers, for the first time, a bunch of data on user behavior.

Soon, the app will give ‘casters detailed insights into how many plays a given podcast episode gets, which parts users skip over, and where users are listening.

So… why is this a big deal?

Apple’s Podcast app is far and away the largest source of podcast consumption in the market — and until now, the only thing it’s told publishers is how many downloads an episode gets.

Nevertheless, advertisers have gone bonkers buying ads in the hot podcast space — largely on blind faith, with almost no data on impressions.

But, be careful what you wish for

Podcasts are beloved for offering deep insights and powerful storytelling — but there’s a chance that could change with the introduction of these analytics.

It’s possible that this new data will spark a new breed of podcasting that panders to advertisers looking for the best metrics. Or, in the words of our friends at The Outline, an “audible version of clickbait.”

Related Articles

Get the 5-minute news brief keeping 2.5M+ innovators in the loop. Always free. 100% fresh. No bullsh*t.