The Podcast Asylum

Podcasts produced by traditional media companies seem particularly vulnerable to this condition. Far from struggling to attract advertisers as many independent podcasters do, those who suffer from Advertissimus Maximus have ads to spare, so many that they insert one every few minutes.

Alas, this compulsion to advertise drives away the very listeners the show’s sponsors are paying to reach. When each episode is less than ten minutes long, inserting pre-roll, mid-roll, and post-roll spots causes hapless listeners to hit the “unsubscribe” button as quickly as possible.

Another form of this pernicious condition includes repeating the same advertisement several times during one episode. Recent studies suggest that the phenomenon is even more maddening in video than in audio, but anyone who has ever listened to Voice America might contest that claim.