The Death of the Podcast Limit?

Note: This review talks about primarily audio podcasts. It relies heavily on how I consume podcasts. Your actual podcast consumption may vary.

I’ve been aware for a while of a subtle shift in podcast behavior. The “CD time limit” seems to be going the way of the dodo.

The “CD time limit” was originally intended to be the maximum time limit for most podcasts. It was defined as the length of time (usually 70 to 80 minutes) that one person could burn to a CD. This was back in the days that most people were still more comfortable with CD players (usually in their cars) than mp3 players for listening to podcasts.

Recently (and finally) that ceiling is being busted through. Shows like “This Week In Tech” and “Wingin’ It” are finally realizing that the bulk of their audience is either listening with an mp3 player (thanks car adapters) or listening through their computers.

So this poses another question. Are podcasts becoming too long? To answer this question, I’ve attempted to break podcasts up into three categories: “micropodcasts” (up to 30 minutes), “macropodcats” (30-80 minutes) and “megapodcasts” (more than 80 minutes long).

The smallest form of the podcast is the “micropodcast”. These tend to be more regular shows that put out a large number of podcasts every week. Shows like “Buzz out Loud” and “The Daily Source Code” (minus the music) tend to hang around this mark. These podcasts are usually easily digestible on my way to work or when I just want to “veg out” for a short time during the day.

“Macropodcasts” tend to appeal more to me when I’m doing something fairly repetitive for long periods of time. When I’m plugging away at something at work or home, these are the ‘casts that keep me motivated. Shows like net@nite are great when my hands are working hard, but my brain isn’t.

Finally, “Megapodcasts” are the marathon runners of the podosphere. I’m seeing podcasts that are getting to be three hours long (I’m talking about you “Doctor Who: Podshock). More and more shows are moving to this long format. These are podcasts for long trips and for times when I just want to blow a good two to three hours. Friday afternoons at work are great for podcasts like this.

Most of the shorter podcasts seem to be posted around five times a week. The longer podcasts tend to be weekly. If you total all the time up at the end of the week for a normal daily show, it reaches the longer weekly show’s time limit. So is there really an effective difference between the two? Is one more popular than another?

I think the answer lies in how podcasts are broken up. I think if you can insert natural breaks into a “megapodcast” (segments, feedback, heck even commercials) I think it holds people’s interest. If the show is one long conversation between two people, it can get a bit boring.

So we have finally seen the death of the “CD time limit”. Only time will tell if longer and longer shows in any of these three podcast lengths will be accepted by the podosphere.

Most people aren’t like me and just can’t devote a good chunk of their week to podcasts (I suffer for my craft). I’d be really curious how much time all of you listen to podcasts per week. Drop me an email at randomreviewer00@gmail.com or reply to the comment section of this post.