The iTunes podcast store is currently promoting Absolute Radio’s Frank Skinner podcasts as we celebrate the fact he’s received 6 million downloads in 2011…so far.
Frank’s already beaten his 2010 total and after five successive record weeks he helped Absolute Radio notch up its best ever month for podcasting with more than 4 million downloads in 4 weeks. The appetite for our on-demand content remains almost insatiable with Dave Gorman and Iain Lee also surpassing 2010’s download totals with 5 months to spare. I’m confident we’ll smash the 40 million download total by Christmas.
July’s record-breaking figures were also bolstered by our strategy to share our video content via podcast as well as on our own website, facebook and youtube. Our videos from the premiere of the final instalment of Harry Potter have been viewed more than a quarter of a million times. It’s another example of us taking our most engaging content to where the audience is consuming it.
As well as being a valuable marketing tool and our own catch-up service like SKY+, our 20,000 podcast episodes are also a major part of current commercial deals with the likes of Swiftcover.com, Kronenbourg 1664 and RAC putting their branding at the start of all related podcasts.
Interestingly, some new MIDAS research has also been revealed recently about podcast consumption. It shows that 5.5million people in the UK are now podcasting with 4 million of those downloading at least once a week. In line with our own figures the most popular genres are comedy, music and TV & film. The average number of podcasts that users subscribe to is 4.8 and 82% say that they’re listening to most of/all of any episode they grab.
Two-thirds of podcast listening is done on a PC and the bulk of the on-demand content is heard at home – but again mirroring our own figures – there has been substantial growth in mobile listening as people use their phones to access on-demand content. This tech-savvy audience are also telling us that almost a third of podcast listening happens on public transport with over half now happening while listeners are on the move. A final nugget of joy for you – 30% of people have started listening to a particular radio show after sampling the content as a podcast.
A final thought to leave you with though – if 67% people use a PC to listen and 26% use a mobile phone – is the actual word ‘PODCAST’ now definitely destined for the jargon junkyard because week by week there is little actual ‘podding’ involved? Podcasting is dead… long live …?
The end of last week saw our 7th wave of momentum results and what fantastic results they were. Highlights include:
- A little more than a third of listeners say they have been listening more than they were six months ago. 36% now, 33% last year.
- An increasing amount of listeners say they started listening within the past three months. Now 18% was 15% last year (June).
- Only 21% of listeners think of us as Virgin Radio first compared to 37% last year
- Nearly a half of listeners (47%) think the music we play is better than it was six months ago, was 41% in Feb
- “Friendly” and “warm” were the words most applied to us but biggest increases were in “exciting”, “individual”, “friendly” and “premium”
Continued innovation, Marketing and Live programming has ensured consistent momentum .
Source EMR music panel July 2011.
The Role
- Reporting to the Head of Sponsorship you will support the Sponsorship team with all areas of Sponsorship administration on all live projects.
Responsibilities include
- To keep sponsorship document up to date with RAJAR figures
- Manage all sponsorship bookings through planit system
- Book trails and money for the sponsorships / spotlight campaigns
- To keep up to date audio library
- Work with team in creating sale packages and case studies
- To develop specific trail / feature laydowns for bespoke sponsorships
- To ensure client information is up to date
- Support rest of team with relevant documentation for meetings
Skills, Experience and Knowledge
- Knowledge of Word, Excel and Powerpoint
- Strong Administration skills
- Organised individual with attention to detail
- Team Player
- Ability to work under own initiative and pay attention to detail
- At least 1 years office based work experience
If you would like to be considered please send a full CV to:
Caroline Hinton – Head of HR, Absolute Radio
One Golden Square, London, W1F 9 DJ
Or e-mail: caroline.hinton@absoluteradio.co.uk
Closing Date: 03 August 2011
Absolute Radio is committed to equality of opportunity for all.
Please indicate your disability on your application. This information is required
so that all who have a disability and meet the minimum criteria for the position
will be invited for interview.
After thousands of shows from the studios of Golden Square, and after hundreds of interviews with celebrities from the worlds of music, TV and film (Jagger, Bowie, Grohl, Ozzy, Winehouse, Plant, Gallagher, Coldplay, AC/DC, Stereophonics, Muse, Green Day, Killers, Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters, Nickelback, Depp, Spacey, Kiefer etc etc - boy does this read like a veritable Who’s Who of everyone who was anyone?!) it was time last week to bid ‘a fond farewell’ to Ben Jones.
In the ten years that Ben has broadcast from Golden Square he has been an unstintingly loyal servant to Absolute Radio and Virgin Radio beforehand. For that, and for his natural enthusiasm, energy and spirit, we are eternally grateful.
Ben’s is a star that will shine bright for a long, long time. Thank you ‘Our Ben’, it has been a joy to work with you, and so say all of us.
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