It has become very clear that Microsoft does not care about supporting podcasting, and the 10’s of thousands of podcasters that are reaching 10’s of millions of listeners / viewers each month. In the past week we have been pulling some incredible stats from our podcast statistic system at RawVoice, and I want to share a couple of the slides here to show you how far out of the game Microsoft has fallen.
The Zune Marketplace currently is the gateway to podcast on Windows Phones and the desktop, while it will supported in the current Windows Phone and Windows 7, there is no plan by Microsoft to support podcasting in Windows 8 or on the Xbox with the exception of a few hand chosen networks. With Xbox being the #2 device in Video On Demand and Video purchases it is obvious that people are using the Xbox to consume media. Sadly Microsoft at this point could care less about new media and the podcasting space.
Can we assume that the Microsoft leadership only cares about content on the Xbox that makes them money? Do they even care that adding new media to Xbox would give added value to the device, the obvious answer is no.
Apple continues to reap the rewards of supporting Podcasting. I was talking with a prominent podcaster last week, and he mentioned he used to be Windows only and was a die hard windows users. Today he only buys Apple products to reward Apple for their continued support of podcasting. The trend is evident when you look at the top 10 devices that are consuming podcast media.
Maybe Microsoft has just given up, and has decided to brush of this segment of content creators! Whatever their decisions Apple continues to eat their lunch and it is obvious that the leadership at Microsoft is only focused on what will generate income versus giving consumers more support to get the content they really want on their platform and devices.
The question we need to start asking is are we willing to let Microsoft ignore Podcasting or do we need to start getting on our soap boxes and demanding inclusion and support in Windows 8 and also in the Xbox platform. Or are we willing to allow Microsoft to ignore the consumption needs of millions of consumers that need more choices today instead of being constrained to a model that is a 100% revenue driven. Do not get me wrong I am not against a revenue model, but to date Microsoft has not even tried to reach out and determine if their is a potential revenue generating model for new media on the Xbox and Windows 8
Data Sets provided by RawVoice as part of their monthly global report on the state of podcasting.
I think the civil way is to blog about it, raise awareness and have your listeners get active in pinging Microsoft as well, tweet, facebook etc.
Todd, What do you propose we do to get Microsoft’s attention?
I’m wondering if there is a civil way we can go about getting Microsoft’s attention. I think if there is a logical plan to get their attention in a way that is not demanding or threatening, I believe people would rally together.
Any thoughts?
Cliff
They will continue to support podcasting in Windows 7 and in the current Windows Phone but when Windows 8 and the new Windows Phone software is introduced do not hold your breath.
Wow, that’s terrible. I just finished submitting my new podcast to Zune because I thought it was one of the places you would wanted to be listed, only to discover that it looks like a waste of time. And I own a Windows phone!
I was a little taken back when their “easy” submission process via the website did not give any type of a confirmation that it was successfully submitted, and I heard that it not only takes a long time to get listed on Zune Marketplace but Canadian podcasters really have a tough time getting on there, but I never thought their attitude towards podcasters was so lacking.
Guess I can stop holding my breath wondering how long, if ever, I get listed but it looks like it doesn’t really matter.
:(