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BBC podcasts criticised by Guardian audio head for 'unimpressive' audiences

Posted: 16/01/08 By: Laura Oliver
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The BBC should not use the licence fee to fund the production of unpopular podcasts, t he Guardian's head of audio said last night.

Speaking at a Radio Academy event on podcasting, Matt Wells said many of the podcasts offered by the corporation attracted 'unimpressive' audience figures in comparison with those available from the Guardian.

He questioned whether the BBC 'should be investing all that money into doing all these shows, which so few people are listening to'.

"We [the Guardian] wouldn't be doing this [podcasting] if we weren't getting respectable numbers. They [download figures for the Guardian's podcasts] are far more respectable numbers than many of the podcasts that the BBC have made available," he said.

"There's a whole slew of shows lower down the Apple iTunes chart that the BBC is using their unique method of funding to produce, which are doing seriously unimpressive numbers."

Wells said podcasts from the Guardian were downloaded 1.5 million times last month, with individual podcasts, such as Football Weekly, attracting 80-100,000 downloads over a week.

In response Sarah Prag, senior project manager for BBC Audio & Music Interactive, defended the range of podcasts offered by the corporation, saying that all the material used in them had already been produced for broadcast and incurred minimal extra production costs.

She added that the aim of the service was to serve a range of audience interests, to attract those browsing for podcasts by subject matter.

However, she conceded that the BBC's podcast service was currently being reviewed to assess its success and find a better way of measuring listener numbers and not just the number of downloads of a show.

"We are investing, but we are also in the process of taking stock. Having launched 150 [podcasts] last year we're now asking ourselves 'How do we measure success? Are these representing value for money?'," said Prag.

"Although we have resources they are not infinite and we need to apply them wisely."