«despite the prevalence of MP3 players, only 13% of people over the age of 12 —some 32 million — say they have ever listened to podcasts, that is, downloaded audio or video other than songs from the Internet for later consumption.

That may have more to do with the process than the content. The two-step process required to hear podcasts — accessing and downloading — may be the reason the digital platform has not caught on. According to Bridge Ratings, the main reasons people skip podcasts are because they just are not interested (46%) or they think it is “too complicated” (39%).^{(25. Bridge Ratings Group, “Digital Media Growth Projections – Updated 4/25/07.”}Not surprisingly, younger audiences showed more interest in the technology. More than half (52%) of those who have ever listened to an audio podcast are under the age of 35. (Arbitron, “The Infinite Dial 2007: Radio’s Digital Platforms,” April 19, 2007.)

State of the news media 2008