I'm a big podcast fan, so I was intrigued by two articles over the weekend, one in The Washington Post and the other from Fast Company, both with similar sourcing and examples, noting the rise of podcasting and podcast networks.

Podcasts are now a lot easier to download and listen to on the move, thanks to smartphones and built-in audio technology in cars, and they have a profitable advertising model for networks that can pool resources or hosts working in small teams from home.

From The Post:

Maybe it’s the intimacy of hearing soothing voices piped into your ears through a pair of headphones — or maybe it’s just how much time people need to kill listening to something. Americans spend more than three hours a day commuting, working out and doing household chores that can be accompanied by audio entertainment, according to census data studied by Matt Lieber, a former public radio producer...

From Fast Company:

As more shows prove the magic of podcasts to generate actual money, audiences continue to grow. In the last year alone, the amount of people listening to podcasts has gone up 25%. And people who podcast, podcast hard, listening to an average of six podcasts a week.