Study: Podcasts gain popularity in the U.S.
By Alisa Zykova, Friday 29 August 2008 at 16:45 :: World Digital Media Trends :: #2198 :: rss
U.S. Internet users who downloaded podcasts to watch or listen to later increased from 12 percent to 19 percent since last year, according to a study by The Pew Internet and American Life Project. In early 2006, only seven percent of Web users downloaded podcasts for later use.
The study showed that 22 percent of men download podcasts, as opposed to 16 percent for women.
Users above 50 are “significantly more likely” to download podcasts for later. However, 13 percent of users above 50 downloaded podcasts and one percent downloaded a podcast “yesterday.”
Meanwhile, 23 percent of users under 50 downloaded podcasts and four percent downloaded a podcast “yesterday.”
Only three percent of Internet users surveyed download podcasts and only 17 percent of those download podcasts on a regular basis.
As a result of increasing demand for podcasts, their availability rose.
For instance, podcast directory Podcast Alley increased its podcasts from 26,000 to 43,000 since November 2006. Technology is allegedly the most popular topic, with over 4,000 podcasts for download.
iTunes urging users to subscribe to podcasts may have also helped boost their popularity.
The academic use of podcasts has also increased, as colleges and universities use them to offer lectures or important speeches. Certain professors have even gone as far as having students respond by making their own podcasts instead of “traditional” papers, wrote The Guardian.
The Pew Study also found that more people are using iPods and MP3 players. 61 percent of users between 18 and 29 own such technology. A Pew study from December 2007 found that 34 percent of U.S. adults and 43 percent of Web users had an iPod or an MP3 player, an increase from 20 percent of the population and 26 percent of Web users from a study in April one year previous.
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