Podcasting download volume lagging behind buzz: survey

(CBC.ca) Only one per cent of internet users are downloading a podcast on a typical day, despite heavy buzz surrounding the multimedia file distribution phenomenon, according to a new survey.

Some 12 per cent of internet users say they have downloaded a podcast so they can listen to it or view it at a later time, up from seven per cent between February and April, the study by the Pew Internet & American Life Project found.

The telephone survey of 2,928 adults was conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates between Aug. 1 and Aug. 31 for Pew, a non-profit research group that examines the social impact of the internet.

The survey also found that men are more likely than women to download podcasts, with 15 per cent of online men responding they had downloaded one, compared with just eight per cent of online women. The margin of error on the sample is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

Those who have used the internet for six or more years are twice as likely as those who have been online three years or less to have downloaded a podcast, the survey also found.

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