It had to happen. The podcasting train has left the station and is picking up momentum. And the companies that support this new distribution medium are growing up to meet the demand. While podcasting was originally the domain of individuals, businesses, including Fortune 500 companies, are diving in.
Software and service providers are rising to meet the challenge. One such provider is Libsyn. Libsyn is a pioneer in the low-cost podcast hosting space. For as little as $5 per month, podcasters can use Libsyn as their host and not worry about bandwidth charges, since Libsyn only charges for podcast storage, not the number of downloads each podcaster receives.
But businesses want scalable, global, robust service, guaranteed up time and an enhanced level of security. So this month, the company rolled out Libsyn Pro, aimed at businesses and podcasting networks.
PROFESSIONAL FEATURES
Libsyn Pro allows podcasters to administer multiple RSS channels. The company says it's a perfect launch pad for professional podcasters who produce podcasts for more than one client, since the RSS channels can be delegated. Stats can be rolled into channel groupings, making it easy to generate monthly reports for multiple podcasts. This is something that advertising agencies and commercial sponsors appreciate.
Libsyn Pro doesn't care whether or not your podcast contains audio, video or both. Files as large as two gigabytes (and possibly more) are no problem for Libsyn Pro. The Pro service also offers more robust metrics and measurement. Pro users can ask for statistics management by the month (not available on standard accounts).
Libsyn Pro has demonstrated download speeds as high as one megabyte per second. That's fast enough to support progressive downloads and the company says it can support thousands of simultaneous downloads per account, with a 99.99% up time guarantee.
When I interviewed Chris MacDonald, Libsyn's executive vice president for business development and operations about the new Pro service, I expected a few gotchas, especially in the area of price. There were none.
"Every other professional podcasting hosting solution requires long-term monthly contracts and/or minimum data commitments," said MacDonald. "You can sign up for Libsyn Pro for as little as one month, with introductory costs of a few hundred dollars."
While it doesn't want to quote specific numbers for this article, Libsyn says costs will be discounted compared to similar services.
FUTURE PLANS
MacDonald also says that Libsyn plans to offer a service in a future version of Libsyn Pro called "Libsyn Premium," which adds RSS control plus merchant accounts. Also planned is a feature called "RSS Plus" which is an authentication platform that requires a password before a download.
Other upcoming modules will include the ability to manage your own ad delivery system (with automated message integration) without relying on existing marketplaces, tie-ins to customer data collection, and online marketing programs.
ENHANCED SERVICES
Libsyn has made a name for itself by providing an easy-to-use and manage platform for podcasters. The new Pro version allows marketing and business types the chance to drive an enterprise-wide podcasting solution without in-house IT staff or resources.
Libsyn has already proven the model with companies such as National Geographic and National Public Radio. Whether or not they will be able to match the same high-level of service on their Pro product that they have on their standard service will depend on how well they scale their model once podcasting goes mainstream.
For more on podcasting, visit my site PodcastingTricks.com
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