image: This is an audio controller table placed in the Carlos III of Madrid University laboratories. view more
Credit: Carlos III of Madrid University
This release is available in Spanish.
Within the environment of radio, and in connection with the distribution of sound contents, podcasting arose a little more than 10 years ago as a new concept of diffusion of contents on demand in Internet. The way it works is simple: by downloading a multi-media file (with text added, fixed image, and links) directly on the Web or through an aggregator program which permits subscription through RSS so that the user can listen to the piece whenever he or she wants to. "In addition to the asynchrony, a feature already existing on a la carte radio, the capacity arose to convert theses contents to mobility," explained the study's author, Ignacio Gallego Pérez, who has recently published his doctoral thesis on this subject. In a nutshell, podcasting accesses contents anytime and anywhere.
Spanish companies opting for podcasting, whether radio stations or for advertising, has been happening very slowly. Services of this type, such as that of Cadena Ser, for example, have not changed since 2005, and until 2010 they did not begin to offer differentiated contents. On the other hand, public companies such as Radio Nacional did not really opt for the Internet until 2008, and finally, it is important to highlight that until now, the use of these services has been complicated," Juan Ignacio Gallego pointed out, who is a Professor at the UC3M Department of Journalism and Audiovisual Communication. "However," he continued, "in Internet trend setting countries, such as the United States and England, its popularization is growing, and in Spain, we are beginning to observe upturns regarding its more and more habitual use," he remarked.
Lack of data
One of the big problems with respect to podcasting in Spain is the lack of reliable studies on the number of its users. However, radio stations are quite reluctant to supply data or they do not regard such data as important, according to Professor Gallego, who has published a book (Podcasting. Nuevos modelos de distribución para los contenidos sonorous (New models for distribution for sound contents) Colección UOC Press, 2010) in which he details the situation of this format in our country and describes how the normal paradigm of broadcasting contents is being transformed. "This will change the moment that advertisers invest more money in these formats, and request data that allow them to look for the best option for their advertising when searching for an audience which is growing more and more fragmented, as has happened in the United Kingdom," he pointed out. There, the entity in charge of measuring audience (RAJAR) regularly provides data on this type of consumption, and in the last wave of December, 2010, cited 8.1 million adults who at one time or another had downloaded a podcast, 44% of whom listen to podcasts every week.
The conclusions of this research indicate that podcasting represents the first innovation as regards to transformation of radio in its relation to the Internet. Previous developments such as streaming or a la carte radio changed the way to understand the distribution of sound content, although not in such a radical fashion, according to the expert. "We have to have it clear that podcasting is not radio; it is another form of distributing audio contents and this idea should be understood by public and private operators, new actors in the market, or users who are embarking upon creating a podcast," he indicated. In short, we find ourselves with a new type of media which should be approached from innovative perspectives which allow its maximum benefit to be achieved.
At the international level, the capacity of the podcast is beginning to be demonstrated as an advertising support and as a company marketing tool. In addition, there are radio groups that are seeking to make their products profitable through small subscriptions or micropayments. "In the end it all about experimenting with the possibilities of a format that must find its own language and differentiate itself with respect to traditional radio, even in the search for its advertisers", stated Professor Gallego. The immediate challenge: to analyze the presence of new actors that are becoming filters or selectors, and who, little by little, are becoming the new mediators who are choosing among the avalanche of contents confronting Net users on a daily basis.