New Podcast Discovery Feed launched by Omny Studio
By James Cridland for media.info
Posted 28 October 2016, 3.55am edt
Discovery of great podcasts is, at present, recognised by many as the main problem of podcasting - with thousands of podcasts available, the issue is that it's harder than ever to find good ones.
Melbourne-based Omny Studio this week launched a new product called the Podcast Discovery Feed which is a personalised podcast service, delivered direct to any podcast app.
The service also contains subscription links to podcast episodes that are highlighted.
Also launched this week, with a new Android update to the popular PocketCasts app, is a way for listeners to share playlists of their favourite podcast episodes. That service may also help discoverability of podcasts. PocketCasts is based in Adelaide.
Recent 'share of audio' research suggests that podcasts are twice as popular in Australia than they are in the US or UK, with podcasting reaching a 4% share of all audio consumed.
Press release
Omny Studio launches “Podcast Discovery Feed” to give listeners a revolutionary new way to find and vote on podcasts
Think Spotify Discover Weekly, but for podcasts
Omny Studio has launched the Omny Discovery Feed, a revolutionary new podcast feed that contains multiple shows and delivers fresh, personalised content to listeners every week. The feed is designed to aid podcasters by delivering their show to new audiences, and allow listeners to discover brand new podcasts.
"One of the first things you’ll notice is that if you and a friend adds the Podcast Discovery Feed at the same time - the shows you get will be completely different to the ones they get" says Omny Studio’s Head of Content, Matt Saraceni.
“It’s kind of magic how it works. I prefer not to download a new app just to try something out, so we wanted to make sure it worked in the apps people are already using. It’s especially good for people who say ‘I’d like to start listening to podcasts, I just don’t know where to begin…’ which is literally something my Uber driver said to me the other week.”
The Discovery Feed operates in the same way as other podcast RSS feeds. Listeners subscribe to the feed through iTunes or their chosen podcast app. The feed contains short 30-40 second “promo” clips, which describe what the show is about, followed by that show’s most recent full episode. A key feature of the Discovery Feed is that listeners can vote “yes or no” to what they’re hearing, which then affects the content they are delivered. The first iteration will include teaser clips from a wide variety of shows and networks - from WTF with Marc Maron, ABC and Wondery to independent podcast gems such as We Fact Up and The Slow Home Podcast.
“Curation is one of the main sticking points of on-demand media in general. The voting feature in the Discovery Feed has the unprecedented effect of creating a completely unique set of recommendations for each listener, with a total refresh of shows in their RSS feed each week,” said Sophie Kneebone, Omny Studio’s Podcast Manager.
“Listeners will also have the ability to subscribe to each individual show they hear, demonstrating the huge potential benefit for podcasters included in the feed.”
The feed is “platform agnostic”, meaning it is not restricted to shows hosting their podcast on the Omny Studio platform. This also means that plays of the full episodes from the feed will hit the podcaster’s servers, to be reflected in their own analytics.
The Omny Podcast Discovery Feed is available now and can be found at podcastdiscoveryfeed.com or by searching “Omny Discovery Feed” in the iTunes store.