Podcast company PRX just teamed up with Gen-Z Media and Night Vale Presents, two podcast networks that are creating children’s programming and scripted fiction, respectively. While both networks will still operate independently, PRX will provide the marketing, ad sales, and technology support.
This is PRX’s first investment in podcasts for kids, a medium that CEO Kerri Hoffman tells me is a good way for parents to limit screen time. It’s also a natural extension for the nonprofit, whose other ventures–a podcast incubator and the indie podcast network Radiotopia–already cultivate and support independent creators.
PRX’s expansion comes at a moment when, as a Wired story revealed yesterday, the efficacy of podcast ads has finally been bolstered with data. Now that Apple has introduced podcast analytics, networks like Midroll, Headgum, and Panoply all have confirmation that listeners are getting through 80%-90% of any given podcast episode, and not too many people are skipping ads. In other words: Podcasting is (still) just getting started.
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