Talking Tech and Building an Empire From Podcasts

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The New York Times has an interesting article on Podcasts.  The article focuses on Podcasts from Leo Laporte, if you are a tech aficionado you have likely heard of him and remember him from "The Screen Savers" and “Call for Help.”

Talking Tech and Building an Empire From Podcasts

From that little town in California wine country, he runs his empire, a podcasting network, TWIT. For 30 hours each week, he and the other hosts on his network talk about technology — topics like the best e-book reader or how to get rid of a computer virus — for shows that he gives away online.

Nerdy, yes. Silly, no. TWIT gets its name from Mr. Laporte’s flagship podcast, “This Week in Tech,” which is downloaded by a quarter of a million people each week. He produces 22 other technology-focused podcasts that are downloaded five million times a month. He also streams video all day long that captures his podcasting and a weekend radio show on computers, “The Tech Guy,” that reaches 500,000 more people through 140 stations.

Advertisers, especially technology companies, appreciate Mr. Laporte’s reach. Mark McCrery, chief executive of Podtrac, which is based in Washington, and measures podcast audiences and sells advertising, said TWIT’s advertising revenue doubled in each of the last two years and was expected to total $4 million to $5 million for 2010.

Starting at $40 per thousand listeners, TWIT’s ad rates are among the highest in American podcasting and are considerably higher than commercial broadcasting rates, which are typically $5 to $15 per thousand listeners.

In July, Mr. Laporte spent three hours signing hundreds of autographs for members of the so-called TWIT army in Detroit. Some of his fans had him sign their iPads. No wonder then, that $20,000 a month in voluntary contributions comes in from the TWIT Web site, which has a series of “Tip Leo” buttons that set off recurring monthly contributions of $2, $5 and $10.

$20,000/month ... that is insane!

Looks like I might have to add in some more feeds into Miro!

[Sal Atticum]

He's already making millions on advertising and people still give him $20,000 a month in donations?  Wow.

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He's already making millions on advertising and people still give him $20,000 a month in donations?  Wow.

Its insane.  I wonder how many people know he makes that much on advertising? People really like the guy and his shows.  On the site they have an option to automatically donate $2/month or more.  With thousands of viewers it can quickly add up.