The thing I found really interesting was the $20-$40 CPM. That's WAY bigger than everything else on that list. But that comes at the cost of the podcast creator's word that the product that's being advertised is worth it. The thing that worries me is where is this leading?
Are other entertainment mediums going to have to do the same thing to be profitable? What about when advertisers want to sponsor podcasts about their product (like a video game podcast being sponsored by Call of Duty)?
To pick up on a point that the article brought up:
The article mention that radios are tied to cars, and cites the availability of connectivity to iphones etc as a reason that podcasts have become more popular. I think this is partly true, but I think It also misses the mark.
How many people commute to work by public transport, or mass transit? All of these people, it seems, are listening to something, and some of them are listening to podcasts. The broad availability of podcasts, their price (free), and their variety of topics make them highly customizable and portable.
Not everyone continues to take the bus to work, however. Some people move, or get a job that allows them to afford a car (or need a car). But they already have all of this content they're consuming, and frankly, radio isn't able to compete. even NPR or CBC alone isn't better enough to warrant a switch from a habit of podcast listening. Plus, a lot of the good NPR and CBC is available as podcasts.
People either don't want an hourly news update, or are the sort of people who are going to the news websites to get more in-depth content than a 10 minute update can give. Indeed, the only thing I switch from podcasts to hear is the Traffic update, which, by nature, must be real-time. Hearing the same thing over and over (à la the 24hr news cycle) is dull, uninteresting, and generally unhelpful. Give me an update when something has ACTUALLY happened.
Basically, radio can't really compete unless you're really into hearing the Top 20 radio stations.
Podcasts are just getting stronger, too, because advertisers have figured out that they're advertisable. You have a dedicated audience who is willing to hear your shit because they care about the content. In a way, podcasts hearken back to the radio of the '20s.
Which means, as podcasts listeners, we're getting a lot more of this: