More favourite CBC Radio shows move onto podcast
CBC has launched 22 radio programs on podcast as part of a major expansion of podcasting by the public broadcaster.
CBC Radio began podcasting ó that is provided recordings of its radio programs that could be downloaded to a digital player or computer ó last April. Shows are available free through iTunes, over CBC.ca and from other download services.
Initially four shows went on air ó the science show Quirks & Quarks, a column called The Mood and selections of Radio Three and Metro Morning.
On Wednesday, CBC began offering a greatly expanded podcasting service, with selections of popular national shows such as As It Happens, The Current, Sounds Like Canada and DNTO, as well as some regional selections.
CBC decided to expand its service because of huge demand for CBC podcasting and the results of a recent survey of podcast users, Bob Kerr, director of business development and digital programming at CBC, said in an interview.
“The most popular podcasts were Radio Three and Quirks & Quarks ó they went through the roof,” Kerr said. “They have become the most popular podcasts in Canada.”
About one quarter of podcast listeners download programs and listen to them en route to work, but most listen at home, or in a single spot like a workplace, he said. Podcast listeners tend to be younger than regular CBC Radio listeners, with more falling in the 18-to-39 age group.
They’re spread right across the country, with the greatest number, 35 per cent of listeners, in Ontario and 18 per cent in British Columbia. U.S. residents make up six per cent of podcast listeners; a further four per cent live in other countries.
The 22 CBC shows available on podcast are updated regularly, and often are different from the original radio programs, Kerr said, with some, like World at Large, being compilations of several shows.
CBC plans to monitor demand for the new service and then decide on how to further expand its podcasting project, Kerr said.
“There’s the whole world of video as well,” he said. Apple’s iTunes music store does not yet offer video in Canada, but there is potential for CBC television to be made available once it does, he said.
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