Podcast

Heart Breakfast podcasts

A podcast is a media file, often from a radio show, such as interviews with celebrities, which is distributed over the internet for playback on portable media players and computers in a non-linear format.

The term "podcast" comes from the combining of the name of Apple's portable music player, the iPod, and broadcast, as often when downloading a podcast, it plays on iTunes.

The podcasters' web sites offer direct download or streaming of their content automatically.

It can be looked at that podcasts may replace radio, as consumers are able to download episodes of radio shows, without having the listen to the whole show. For example, the Heart Breakfast podcasts enables listeners to download the 'funniest bits' of the show, as well as interviews with celebrities. Viewers have to subscribe to the website in order to get the latest podcasts 'delivered' to their computer, and Heart describe it as 'It's a bit like getting a magazine delivered to your door, but with audio'. However, in order to subscribe, you must first download the programme iTunes, which markets the Apple institution as they have teamed up with Heart to deliver to consumers to latest technology. The programme iTunes also has a wide range of podcasts that are free and due to them covering a wide range of subjects/topics, they can appeal more directly to niche audiences.

The easy access of podcasts makes it appealing to many audiences, particulary teenagers and working people. As it is easy to download podcasts and then transfer them to an iPod, there is a large appeal to teenagers. They are also in control by being able to skip through parts of the podcast they don't like (Non-linear), where as they wouldn't be able to do that on the radio. The appeal of podcasts to working people is that they can listen to shows they may have missed.

CONCEPTS of THEORY

Proliferation, non-linear, immediacy, flexibilty/convenience, personalisation