I remember it being big news in 2005 that PodShow would be syndicating their best and brightest to Sirius Satellite Radio. PaidContent is now reporting that the deal has ended in a very abrupt manner.

According to the PaidContent blog post, "the block was pulled from the air without notice from PodShow to more than two dozen contributing podcasters."

I'm really not sure if there is a winner or loser in this case. It couldn't have costed Sirius much money to pump the podcast content through their system. At the same time it probably didn't bring Sirius any subscribers. Why would you pay for something that you can download for free from the internet?

It was great PR for PodShow to be able to say that they could get certain podcasters on satellite radio. But what does that really mean? Satellite radio has a much narrower reach than podcasting. And you still have to be listening at the time a show is aired to hear the content.

So I'd venture to guess that podcasters were not gaining many listeners from the Sirius-PodShow connection. If anything, this indicates that podcasters are better off focusing on the common network medium known as the internet.

I have no doubt that Sirius will be evaluating their content offerings and eliminating more low value shows as their deal with XM nears closing.

Labels: podcasting, podshow, satellite radio, sirius

Apple sent out some new guidance on encoding video podcasts to help with Apple TV compatibility yesterday. They also had some advice about multiple RSS feeds as well.

1. Apple on video podcasts - "If you're encoding your video podcast at 320x240, please increase the resolution to either 640x480 or 640x360 (depending on the aspect ratio of your source files). Why? Because video podcasts at this resolution look great on Apple TV and still port to video iPods. Lower resolution podcasts might also work on both platforms, but they don't look nearly as good on a widescreen TV. As always, make sure to test any encoding changes you make to ensure device compatibility. QuickTime 7.1's "Export to iPod" function will ensure that a video file is encoded at a width of 640 and is iPod-compatible."
2. Apple on multiple video feeds - "It's best not to create two different podcast feeds for different resolutions. By doing so, you dilute the popularity of your podcast and reduce exposure in our charts. It's better to have one feed high in the charts than two that are lower."

Alright then. Go forth and produce some hi res video podcasts.

Labels: apple, apple tv, itunes, video