always listening in

Couple of great ones in the there.

• Boing Boing Five favorite podcasts

Thanks Ed.

I can’t tell you how sad I was when Sky nabbed Lost series 3 from under Channel 4′s nose, not because I was going to miss the show, I was sure I could get the DVD or ask a friend to record it. No I was upset because Channel 4 radio has an excellent podcast dissecting every episode. It was hosted by comedian Iain Lee and really was one for the best podcasts I’d heard.

A friend lent me the first 6 episodes on video and it was with a heavy heart I sat down to watch them, knowing I’d still enjoy it, but knowing that I was not going to have the podcast to go with it. So imagine my surprise when I saw an ad for th podcast, and guess what? Sky had got Iain Lee to present – fantastic.

I’ve watched the first couple of episodes and listened to the podcasts and they are every bit as good as Channel 4′s (if a little shorter) . Never thought I’d say this, but nice one Sky, thanks for understanding shows like Lost really benefit from extras like this that improve the experience.

If you are reading this after having bought either Series 2 or 3 of Lost on DVD, go download the podcasts, watch each episode and then enjoy the podcast. It really does make the show.

• Lost Series 3 on Sky with video clips and podcast
• Lost Series 2 on Channel 4

XFM have launched a podcast of the Adam and Joe show best bits. Clips from the last series of their fantastic radio show topped and tailed with some new material.

Glad to see they are repeating the hilarious R Kelly ‘In the closet’ DVD escapade.

Go get it now:

• Adam and Joe podcast on XFM

I downloaded and listened to the Mastercast last weekend. It was well, a bit geeky. If you appreciate the differences in the colour of the skin of the Evil-Lin action figure then you’ll love it. If like me you really don’t care then leave this one alone.

• Link to the podcast

I was a huge He-man fan when I was a kid – I loved the action figures with the springy waists that could punch.

Anyway, looks interesting – I haven’t had a chance to listen to it myself, I should have some time over the weekend so I’ll post something next week.

• Masters Cast – The First He-Man and She-Ra Podcast

A Forrester Research consumer poll found that 25 percent of online consumers expressed interest in podcasts, citing the ability to listen to programming on their own schedule. Just 1 percent of households, however, said they regularly listened to podcasts and only 2 percent had sampled them.

Podcast Listeners Still Few

Trying to get hold of download statistics for podcasts is a relaly tricky job. Nobody except the beeb publishes them it seems. The BBC’s head of podcasting says:

In February, the latest month for which statistics are available, 1.7 million people downloaded BBC content. The Chris Moyles show on BBC Radio 1 is the most popular.

But that only tells the BBC how many files are downloaded. It does not say anything about the number of individuals or whether people are even listening to the files.

Setting up iTunes or iPodder to download podcasts is easy – adding them to an iPod is pretty easy, getting the time to listen to them all, now that’s tough.

I’ve just been listening back to some MP3 clips I downloaded from Adam’s website recently. One of the clips – a hilarious preview of R-Kelly’s new DVD and it makes for some of the best radio I’ve heard. Go have a listen.

• Adam and Joe and extracts from R Kelly’s insane DVD

At long last the Guardian has announced some proper podcasts .

Newsdesk: a daily opinion and round up piece.

Media talk: a weekly podcast from the MediaGuardian folks. The first show has a report from the launch of series 2 of Dr Who with interviews from David Tenant and Russell T Davies.

Science weekly follows the excellent science coverage in the paper with more of the same reasoned science writing.

And finally Westminster weekly which is pretty self explanatory politics update.

The Guardian don’t seem to be publicising the podcasts as yet as there are no links from the homepage, it took me about 5 minutes to find them. So expect an official launch soon.

• Guardian Unlimited: Podcasts

I am preparing a comparison of the major UK newspapers’ podcasts, watch this space.

Cadbury’s are launching a podcast to promote the Creme Egg.

Michelle Goodes, Cadbury Creme Egg brand manager, said:

Podcasting gives us a new opportunity to build stronger relationships with our consumers in a relevant and innovative way and allows consumers new ways to interact with a brand that they know and love.

It’s enough to make you sick – why in god’s name would I want to “interact with the brand”?

How is listening to a podcast going to make me want to eat more creme eggs? I wonder if they’ll release listener figures…

If you must you can read more at Revolution Magazine:

• Creme Egg promotion steps up a gear with podcast

Radio 4 now has it’s own downloads page listing all the lovely new podcasts.

• BBC – Radio 4 – Downloading and Podcasting

Take a group of people, a classic movie and a microphone and you get Movies You Should See.

In the latest episode of the show the group talk about one of my favourite films – the Princess Bride. The self confessed movie geeks offer some really good insights into some cult films. Well worth a listen.

• Simply Syndicated – Movies You Should See

Times Online is following in the footsteps of the Guardian and launching a comedy based Podcast.

Commenting on the podcasts, David Baddiel said:

The podcast is a great medium for me and Frank: it’s new, direct to fans, interactive, and doesn’t require us to look good. From that point of view, the only World Cup double-act more suited to it would be Ronaldinho and Peter Crouch.

I’m looking forward to it.

• Baddiel and Skinner launch first World Cup podcast – Sport – Times Online