The Podcast Idiot

What do you think?

For almost a year, the ESPN Radio affiliate in DC, ESPN 980, has been delaying the podcasts of its most popular shows and hosts for 24 hours.

Here’s the reasoning from PD Chuck Sapienza: “I know this hurts people who listen out of town, but we’re trying to get people to listen on the radio. We’re in the radio business, and we’re trying to get people to listen on the radio. And the more people who download podcasts, the fewer who listen on the radio.”

What I’ve tried to explain to people is that the radio show is the vehicle from which everything else runs. The radio show generates the revenue so we have a podcast. If we don’t have a radio show or a radio station, there’s no podcast.” *

Uhhhhh…

No.

This is about as bass-ackwards as it can be.

Listeners will find the content they want, when they want, on the devices they want.

The days when we could force people to listen to a radio station for almost anything have been gone for a long time.

Perhaps, like Google, Radio should look at SAT tests and college transcripts before hiring…

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*The Washington Post