Blubrry Podcasting, a podcast services leader in the industry, recently celebrated 600,000+ shows in their directory. The directory, allows for anyone, Blubrry user or not, to listen to a podcast and see a list of the show’s episodes, all for free.
The directory, which was introduced in 2006, has seen significant growth in the podcasting industry since 2014. In 2017, the directory included more than 120,000 new shows; they project over 180,000 new podcasts this year, an increase of 50 percent over the previous year.
Podcasts are updated hourly, show hosts can claim their show, which includes a link to their show’s website. As opposed to other directories, there are also multiple ways for listeners to subscribe via Android or Apple devices and most importantly share the podcast.
“Surpassing 600,000 shows in the Blubrry Podcast Directory, which has been around since we launched Blubrry, provides infinite opportunities to podcast listeners and allows us to track ongoing in the podcasting space,” said Todd Cochrane, CEO of Blubrry.
Blubrry will continue to monitor trends in the market, release data and relevant information on the podcasting industry based on discoveries made analyzing the hundreds of thousands of podcasts and the near 50,000 podcasts measured by our IAB compliant Podcast Statistics.
As much growth as the industry has seen, however, there is a great deal of room to grow in specific categories.
“Many of the typical topics are covered well by various podcasts,” said Angelo Mandato, CIO of Blubrry. “But the directory, as large as it is, shows us that there are many categories that are underserved.”
“Categories such as ‘Kids and Family’, “Games and Hobbies’, and ‘Government and Organizations’ are severely underrepresented,” Mandato said. “This presents notable opportunities for podcasters to fill these topics.”
In fact, Mandato said, “The largest category is ‘Religion’. Many congregations have gravitated toward podcasting in recent years, and made it an essential component of their service.”