According to the news service Pressetext.de the number of downloads from so-called podcasts (⇒ Wikipedia) has plainly multiplied by ten over a period of one year in Germany. Whereas in June 2005 there were still about 220.000 downloads being registered, this number increased to over three million recorded each month by March 2006. Podcasts can be compared to broadcasts on a special subject matter which can be downloaded and listened to by means of a MP3 player on a personal computer or any portable device.
Companies are more and more discovering the importance of podcasts as a communications medium and count on corporate podcasting. The podcast production is relatively inexpensive and therefore also within the means of small and medium-sized enterprises (SME). The average podcast listener is of high interest to companies. Being male, about 30 years old, with a good salary and a higher level of education he is listening to podcast transmissions for about 3.6 hours per week. These figures were presented at the first podcast convention which took place in Munich recently. Platforms such as iTunes currently offer about 30.000 podcasts free of charge, 2.000 of which in German language. 