• WSJ (paid subscription required), Monday, November 14, 2005 3:16 PM

Audible, Inc., a Web-based aggregator of audio programs, is taking the lead in providing advertisers with podcast measurement data, giving them a way to track how many times shows are downloaded, how long consumers listen, and whether shows are played back. The company, which started out selling audio books, magazines, and newspapers to online consumers, is revising its existing technology to measure podcasts. The service is expected to be available next quarter. As ad agency executives point out, podcasts present an interesting alternative for them--and there are hundreds of popular podcasts--but there's no measurement currently available. Many podcasters are selling ads, but "people have been making up" prices and providing no knowledge about how consumers are engaging with each show, says one executive. Audible hopes to change that, offering podcast listening data for three cents per download. For an extra two cents per download, it will restrict listeners from emailing podcasts to others. The company also plans to charge a half cent per download for inserting relevant ads into podcasts.

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