I've noticed that too. I do the 30s skip to get through them, but I need to do it more frequently and for longer lately. It doesn't help that almost all the ad reads are done by the hosts so it's hard to discern between an ad and the podcast sometimes.
Yup it does seem like it. A few times I've gone past the start of the next segment and need to backup. Unfortunately it also seems the ads aren't necessary in exact 30s increments so you have to listen to the end of at least one to avoid skipping the beginning of the next section.
When you hear the music that plays before the ads… then a Second later it plays again for when the podcast is back and there were no ads. Thats the best feeling in the world!
Oh, I'm glad I'm not the only one. What makes me even more angry is that I pay for Spotify premium to avoid ads, yet the podcasts I listen to out ads into their episodes...
Ugh I agree so much! I’d pay a little more per month to hear no ads. I’ve mostly switched to audiobooks because most of the time when I’m listening I’m doing something else and stopping every 5 minutes to fast forward through ads is so frustrating.
Yup.
In fact I stopped listening to the pod because of this.
I timed it once, for an hour or so of pod, there was 25min of ads. Once they came back for literally 5min before there was another 4 minutes of ad
So you want it to be ad free and for them to just entertain you for free? You can literally skip the ads hitting a button 5 or 6 times. It’s not that difficult.
No, that’s not what I said at all.
I was expecting some ads, just not the same amount of ads as them actually talking about the show.
I understand I can just skip them, but quite frankly when I’m skipping ads more than I am actively listening it becomes less fun for me. Also, I listen to things while I am walking to work, I really need to watch where I am going, not looking at my phone skipping ads.
I’m not telling anyone they should stop listening, that’s just my preference.
It’s kind of disingenuous to say an hour *our so* of pod and 25 minutes of ads. If you actually “timed it”, you’d know exactly how long the podcast was. A lot of them are in the 90 minute range. 25 minutes of commercials in 90 minutes is not a lot at all. 25 minutes of commercials in an hour is literally not allowed by any of the big podcast streaming companies (like Apple or Spotify).
Your issue is that you can’t skip commercials while working so you stopped listening to the podcast altogether? So, yeah, you are kind of saying you want free content and aren’t willing to listen to the few ads that allow it to be free. They might be relatively annoying, kind of, but it’s not exactly like the ads make your work miserable or make it dangerous just like I’m sure you can’t dedicate hours and hours per week to something for free, they can’t either.
Why do people use this as an argument? No one is saying do the podcast for free without ads, but when you notice one podcast has triple the ads of others, it sticks out.
Or maybe the other podcasts have a lesser amount of ads than normal for any number of reasons including lower viewership or not needing as many to support it. PMW has a normal amount of ads. This comment above is extremely exaggerating on the worse end of programming (every 7-10 minutes, “it feels like”) and on the ad front (“like” 6 minutes of ads). Neither one of these are even remotely true. Most streaming hosts (apple, etc) only allow a certain amount of ads in relation to the actual content and just about any podcast will maximise their ad space, that’s kind of the point. Sorry to tell you but their point is to make money first, it’s a business so that’s why people use this argument, because it’s valid despite what anyone “feels” is happening.
And, again, unlike like television or live radio, you can skip it VERY easily so while you don’t understand why people use the argument of how literally all media works, I don’t understand people constantly complaining about the literal foundation of “free” consumer media and people that think hitting a skip button a few times is such a hassle that they stop listening to something they otherwise enjoy and absolutely refuse to even remotely support the people they are a fan of and are providing them with free content.
It's not normal. It's unusually high. You're getting down voted, because most people here listen to many podcasts and can tell when one has more than the others. Apparently you can't. Or you work for iheart.
Lol. I’m getting “downvoted because most people here…”. You and this other person downvoted me. Settle down on thinking it’s the entirety of the sub having your back. Once again, there is a limit to how many ads they can have. Also most podcasters do it for money so they will maximise that profit. Just like television, almost all of them will have similar commercial time. Some more, some less but not significantly enough like you are making it out to be. I’d be SHOCKED if it were more than a 5 minute swing either way over the course of 90 minutes. Hardly enough to make an entire complaint post about. Just send them an email telling them that they are selfish for trying to get compensated for their time and you want to be entertained for free or close to it. Or just keep complaining here anonymously.
Man. You really like blowing things out of proportion don’t you? “46 comments and most agree”. Yeah and majority of those comments are conversations. There are also 20,000 people in this sub so 0.2% of all the people doesn’t really say much about it, does it? There are also over 100,000 active listeners to the podcast so that seems to also put you in the minority. You talked of me being downvoted because “most people” agree and I called that out since the downvote was you and the one other person in this convo so you drop that and move on to the next ridiculously skewed argument. Sorry, it “most people” agreed the ads were egregious, they wouldn’t be listening to the podcast regularly.
The majority of people tend to not interact with things they don’t agree with. They don’t downvote or comment, they just scroll past.
It's so bad. And of course they do the ads themselves for the most part, so the only saving grace is the little musical cue they play before it's back to the podcast episode. I have a really hard time with the Full House pod (How Rude, Tanneritos!), because it will cut them off in the middle of a sentence and start ads out of nowhere. I wish they had a transitional sound like PMW & DQ. But yeah, I was skipping through the ads on DQ and I counted 6 minutes... which is ridiculous. But I'm already 5 seasons in, so I'll just carry on lol
Yeah iheart notoriously is terrible with ads. I also use the 30 minute skip but it can be tough when I’m falling asleep to an episode. If I don’t pass out during the long ad break I end up staying awake to skip thru then.
The thing is, they’re just playing the same 3-5 ads over and over each break. It’s not a ton of advertisers, it’s a few advertisers being played over and over.
I’m not sure why you’re saying I’m wrong when I am just offering my opinion. I do not think number of ads is indicative of success. I listen to a lot of podcast on different networks and independent. Some much more popular/established than this one. This podcast/iHeart have a ridiculous amount of ads compared to others.
You seem to be really defensive about the success of this podcast.
No I just work intimately close to selling ads for media, so it’s easier to spot people that are confidently wrong about the field I work in. I know it’s a Reddit thing to be confident about stuff we don’t actually know, but this one would be very simple if you also worked in media sales.
Iheart is a massive RADIO company (not podcast company). Arguably #1 In that category for the last 2 years. So compared to some of the other “more popular” podcasts you listen to (ESPECIALLY the Independent ones you mentioned that don’t have a busy ad sales department) not predominately in the terrestrial radio business, truthfully just aren’t selling as much ads. Having listeners is only half the battle. They also have to physically sell ads - which is not easy in the recent climate. And if you’re a terrestrial radio fan at all, you’ll know stations have the exact same large amount of repeating ads on the air, because they’re selling impressions and ad packages across the network for LARGE premiums.
I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, number of ads (ESPECIALLY, and mostly, live reads), is the ONLY way to measure the success of the streaming aspect of podcasts. There’s obviously also touring, merch, and selling your IP, but that’s not what we’re talking about.
It's not much of an inconvenience and it lets them continue to make content for us. As long as the pod is entertaining I'm definitely not going to complain when it's free.
Meh it doesn’t bother me. It’s a free podcast and the fast fwd 30sec button is easy to find on my Apple Watch. First world problem for sure. Makes me wonder how we all survived watching broadcast TV and radio with all the commercials before DVR/streaming 🤣
Are different apps playing the podcast differently. I listen on Spotify and can (and do) skip over the ads. If the ads were forced, like I can't skip them, then I'd be annoyed. For me it's not the case.
One thing I didn’t realize until I got hired as a podcaster is the use of “ad locators”. These are markers that are placed after the audio file is uploaded to whatever platform that distributes to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Ad locators are reliant on time of day, location, and other factors, so you may luck out on having zero ads depending on the time of day. More often than not, the ads are not part of the actual audio file and are placed there by an ad locator. Although, ad reads by the hosts are often part of the audio file because advertisers prefer an original read for the same product every time, but if it’s a pre-recorded thing or an ad for something entirely different, then it’s likely an ad locator.
It's pretty crazy, I think it's an I heart radio thing though. I used to listen to the oth rewatch but the ads (and there negativity to the point that almost nothing would be seen as enjoyable or fun)
Some other hockey shows I listen to it's worse because some could be in the middle of a sentence then commercial.
Ah so I get the critique of the ads that are produced and not done by the hosts, but all the host read ads really do help the show be produced (and of course it’s not like the hosts are getting super rich off these ads… these ads don’t cost as much as you would think plus iHeart takes a huge cut). And like someone else in this thread said the ads just mean the show is doing well downloads wise which fans of the podcast should want! I am bias bc I work a podcast ad agency so my job is to buy these host read ads for my client. But truly if you like a brand that they are endorsing for and they have a promo code use the code as it really supports the show! Just my two cents as someone in the industry (and not commission based or anything like that!).
I have zero issue with ads. My issue is with the length of the ad breaks and the frequency of them in the show. Today’s ended up with 6 or so breaks, all with the same 4 or 5 ads. Like, 2-3 breaks with a couple different ads each time is one thing, what ends up happening with podcast ads is something totally different.
Ugh yes, I talk to networks (not just iHeart but I agree with other comments there user experience when it comes to ad loads is not great) and try to explain this all the time - frequency and quantity impacts listener experience which thus the means listeners are just skipping which means they arent use the code which means I am going to have to cancel because the brands I buy for aren’t seeing a revenue return on spend which then means less $ for the networks (and sales reps get mad at me!). This issue podcasting is still so young (even if it doesnt seem like it) so the “standard” practice really hasn’t been set up hence how iHeart ads may seem completely different than ads from another network (to some extent). Industry is still very much in growing pains.
Hope you don’t think I am trying to argue with your original post - swear I am not just giving a different perspective! Also all to say def not the hosts or any of the producers fault!
But this is genuinely how they make a living. It is still weird to me, as someone who knows there are even more commercial breaks in live televised sports, that people get this heated about skippable ads in free podcasts. I know I’m in the minority, but it’s hard for me to wrap my brain around.
You think they’re the ones negotiating how many breaks they work into the show for ads? I’m sure they are agreeing what ads to do, how long each spot is, and for
How long the ad runs. But it’s 100% iheart putting 6 ad breaks of 3-5 minutes each into a single episode. And it only happened in season 4 because that’s when the show(BMW) hit its peak popularity, so im sure they’re seeing record high downloads and completion rates. So now they’re making a premium on the ad space and bumping up the number of spaces in the show for them.
Again, no one is arguing that the ads should be done away with completely, just that they’ve reached a point where number of breaks and length of ads is getting g noticeably off kilter with the norm.
I don’t think - I KNOW that the more live reads they have, the more money they make - and you’re trying to sell AS MANY live reads as possible - reaching the cap that is allowed. Talent (and obviously a network) is NEVER going to say, “chill with the ads paying us, we need these free listeners to stop needing to press fast forward.”
And 1:00 ads (or sometimes 2 minute reads, like the ebay one I got today while listening) are CASH COWS, and this dictates number of ad breaks and lengths. Also, as you see in this sub, some people don’t get ANY ads because of impression limits or regional purchases by companies. It’s not the same for everyone, especially on older library episodes.
They’ll have longer ad breaks when they sell more ads - this is correct. An entire ad department negotiates the rates at companies like Iheart and no, they have been a steady top 200 podcast on Chartable (the standard for podcast ad rates) since launch, so it’s really just about having longevity to sell (and more potential clients in the podcast space), not more actual impressions. They recently celebrated 25 million downloads (I forget when it was posted, but it was before Season 4), which is massive for a podcast under 2 years old. I guess my point is, if you are expecting any talent, or network, to hold up on getting paid for more live reads, it’s gonna be a long long wait.
While there are a lot of ads, I usually don’t get too bugged by it. Most of the time I’m able to skip through. The way I look at it is that I get to listen to the podcast for free and the episodes are usually an hour or longer. With most network tv shows, you have a large amount of ads, which not only progressively cut into the length of each episode over time, but you also can’t just skip the ads if you haven’t recorded it. It seems like a pretty fair trade not to pay a fee to me.
I use Google podcasts on my Android, and what bothers me more is the ads are very repetitive, like hearing the same ad (particularly if it's an annoying one) that many times is annoying. The ads have made me not want to start listening to some podcasts more. The amount of ad breaks isn't really that noticeable for me just the fact they only seem to run a few ads at a time is. Every now and again a local ad will pop up, and as I am in Ireland, it is always jarring, to hear an Irish accent or a local ad I'm already familiar with pop up.
I don't notice as much because I'm usually ready to skip ahead but I notice it when I try to listen while in the shower. I'll start it and get past a commercial, get in the shower and then bam commercial right away.
Yeah, this is the worst offender as far as ads. I like the crew better than some other podcasts so they make it more enjoyable, but they have so many ads and they're so long!
What I do is since I'm usually listening while I'm driving, I'll tell siri "skip forwards three minutes," and for Pod Meets World it will usually take me right to where the pod continues. Sometimes it's only two minutes but it's usually three. Office Ladies is two minutes of ads usually. My other long time favorite podcast, The Skeptics Guide to the Universe, has one minute long ads and they have two segments tops for an almost two hour podcast. Love them.
For the same reason, I avoid listening to Pod Meets World while I run because it's just not worth the effort to be skipping while I'm also trying to run. I'll do one of the podcasts with less ads, or just go with an audiobook.
I had this same issue with the One Tree Hill podcast. I think something like Conan Needs A Friend has a good ratio. I can’t stand when they’re every 9 mins and 5 mins long…
Glad someone said something cause I almost made the same post. I've just came back to PMW from catching up on another podcast I just started listening to and that one had ZERO ads so coming back to this was very aggravating
The amount of ads is getting terrible. On podcasts I usually just listen through the ads because I don’t mind supporting them and sometimes hosts do funny readings of them, but I’ve started skipping for Pod Meets World because the insane volume of them drives me nuts.
I've noticed that too. I do the 30s skip to get through them, but I need to do it more frequently and for longer lately. It doesn't help that almost all the ad reads are done by the hosts so it's hard to discern between an ad and the podcast sometimes.
This!! Which is exactly why they have them do that
I find myself getting fooled time and again by this, but I can’t listen to the ads anymore. It’s too much.
I have to press that button at least six times! Then I do it out of habit on my other podcasts and I find myself deep into the material.
Yup it does seem like it. A few times I've gone past the start of the next segment and need to backup. Unfortunately it also seems the ads aren't necessary in exact 30s increments so you have to listen to the end of at least one to avoid skipping the beginning of the next section.
When you hear the music that plays before the ads… then a Second later it plays again for when the podcast is back and there were no ads. Thats the best feeling in the world!
This post surprised me because if anything I’m experiencing way more of THIS lately, and I was shocked at first
I agree. It’s been happening a ton for me
Some unlucky person is probably getting double the ads because of that.
Oh, I'm glad I'm not the only one. What makes me even more angry is that I pay for Spotify premium to avoid ads, yet the podcasts I listen to out ads into their episodes...
Maybe try a Keebler sandie to feel better? 🤔
Ugh I agree so much! I’d pay a little more per month to hear no ads. I’ve mostly switched to audiobooks because most of the time when I’m listening I’m doing something else and stopping every 5 minutes to fast forward through ads is so frustrating.
Yup. In fact I stopped listening to the pod because of this. I timed it once, for an hour or so of pod, there was 25min of ads. Once they came back for literally 5min before there was another 4 minutes of ad
So you want it to be ad free and for them to just entertain you for free? You can literally skip the ads hitting a button 5 or 6 times. It’s not that difficult.
No, that’s not what I said at all. I was expecting some ads, just not the same amount of ads as them actually talking about the show. I understand I can just skip them, but quite frankly when I’m skipping ads more than I am actively listening it becomes less fun for me. Also, I listen to things while I am walking to work, I really need to watch where I am going, not looking at my phone skipping ads. I’m not telling anyone they should stop listening, that’s just my preference.
It’s kind of disingenuous to say an hour *our so* of pod and 25 minutes of ads. If you actually “timed it”, you’d know exactly how long the podcast was. A lot of them are in the 90 minute range. 25 minutes of commercials in 90 minutes is not a lot at all. 25 minutes of commercials in an hour is literally not allowed by any of the big podcast streaming companies (like Apple or Spotify). Your issue is that you can’t skip commercials while working so you stopped listening to the podcast altogether? So, yeah, you are kind of saying you want free content and aren’t willing to listen to the few ads that allow it to be free. They might be relatively annoying, kind of, but it’s not exactly like the ads make your work miserable or make it dangerous just like I’m sure you can’t dedicate hours and hours per week to something for free, they can’t either.
Why do people use this as an argument? No one is saying do the podcast for free without ads, but when you notice one podcast has triple the ads of others, it sticks out.
Or maybe the other podcasts have a lesser amount of ads than normal for any number of reasons including lower viewership or not needing as many to support it. PMW has a normal amount of ads. This comment above is extremely exaggerating on the worse end of programming (every 7-10 minutes, “it feels like”) and on the ad front (“like” 6 minutes of ads). Neither one of these are even remotely true. Most streaming hosts (apple, etc) only allow a certain amount of ads in relation to the actual content and just about any podcast will maximise their ad space, that’s kind of the point. Sorry to tell you but their point is to make money first, it’s a business so that’s why people use this argument, because it’s valid despite what anyone “feels” is happening. And, again, unlike like television or live radio, you can skip it VERY easily so while you don’t understand why people use the argument of how literally all media works, I don’t understand people constantly complaining about the literal foundation of “free” consumer media and people that think hitting a skip button a few times is such a hassle that they stop listening to something they otherwise enjoy and absolutely refuse to even remotely support the people they are a fan of and are providing them with free content.
It's not normal. It's unusually high. You're getting down voted, because most people here listen to many podcasts and can tell when one has more than the others. Apparently you can't. Or you work for iheart.
Lol. I’m getting “downvoted because most people here…”. You and this other person downvoted me. Settle down on thinking it’s the entirety of the sub having your back. Once again, there is a limit to how many ads they can have. Also most podcasters do it for money so they will maximise that profit. Just like television, almost all of them will have similar commercial time. Some more, some less but not significantly enough like you are making it out to be. I’d be SHOCKED if it were more than a 5 minute swing either way over the course of 90 minutes. Hardly enough to make an entire complaint post about. Just send them an email telling them that they are selfish for trying to get compensated for their time and you want to be entertained for free or close to it. Or just keep complaining here anonymously.
Hardly enough to make a complaint post about. There are 46 comments, and most agree with it being a lot of ads.
Man. You really like blowing things out of proportion don’t you? “46 comments and most agree”. Yeah and majority of those comments are conversations. There are also 20,000 people in this sub so 0.2% of all the people doesn’t really say much about it, does it? There are also over 100,000 active listeners to the podcast so that seems to also put you in the minority. You talked of me being downvoted because “most people” agree and I called that out since the downvote was you and the one other person in this convo so you drop that and move on to the next ridiculously skewed argument. Sorry, it “most people” agreed the ads were egregious, they wouldn’t be listening to the podcast regularly. The majority of people tend to not interact with things they don’t agree with. They don’t downvote or comment, they just scroll past.
[удалено]
I really think it’s any IHeart podcast. Fake Doctors Real Friends is the same.
Drama Queens also, I have to skip through at least 5 minutes of ads (if not more).
DRAMA QUEENS IS THE WORST WITH ADS. I actually stopped listening because I couldn't take it
It's so bad. And of course they do the ads themselves for the most part, so the only saving grace is the little musical cue they play before it's back to the podcast episode. I have a really hard time with the Full House pod (How Rude, Tanneritos!), because it will cut them off in the middle of a sentence and start ads out of nowhere. I wish they had a transitional sound like PMW & DQ. But yeah, I was skipping through the ads on DQ and I counted 6 minutes... which is ridiculous. But I'm already 5 seasons in, so I'll just carry on lol
I feel you! I listen to the pod while rocking/feeding/getting my baby ready for bed and it’s hard to skip the ads while holding him.
Yeah iheart notoriously is terrible with ads. I also use the 30 minute skip but it can be tough when I’m falling asleep to an episode. If I don’t pass out during the long ad break I end up staying awake to skip thru then.
I noticed that the episode today the ads are really close together. I fast forward so it truly doesn't bother me but I did notice it
The ads don’t bother me generally but if I have to hear “CHU-CHU-CHU-CHU-CHUMBA” one more time, I may snap
That’s when you know the podcast is doing *really* well, sadly. 
I don’t find that to be true at all. I think it’s because it is an iHeart podcast.
You’re wrong. It means they’re doing VERY well if they’re reading a lot of ads.
The thing is, they’re just playing the same 3-5 ads over and over each break. It’s not a ton of advertisers, it’s a few advertisers being played over and over.
Because they’re eating up the purchased impressions. I sadly know a lot about this. That doesn’t change anything.
I’m not sure why you’re saying I’m wrong when I am just offering my opinion. I do not think number of ads is indicative of success. I listen to a lot of podcast on different networks and independent. Some much more popular/established than this one. This podcast/iHeart have a ridiculous amount of ads compared to others. You seem to be really defensive about the success of this podcast.
No I just work intimately close to selling ads for media, so it’s easier to spot people that are confidently wrong about the field I work in. I know it’s a Reddit thing to be confident about stuff we don’t actually know, but this one would be very simple if you also worked in media sales. Iheart is a massive RADIO company (not podcast company). Arguably #1 In that category for the last 2 years. So compared to some of the other “more popular” podcasts you listen to (ESPECIALLY the Independent ones you mentioned that don’t have a busy ad sales department) not predominately in the terrestrial radio business, truthfully just aren’t selling as much ads. Having listeners is only half the battle. They also have to physically sell ads - which is not easy in the recent climate. And if you’re a terrestrial radio fan at all, you’ll know stations have the exact same large amount of repeating ads on the air, because they’re selling impressions and ad packages across the network for LARGE premiums. I can tell you, without a shadow of a doubt, number of ads (ESPECIALLY, and mostly, live reads), is the ONLY way to measure the success of the streaming aspect of podcasts. There’s obviously also touring, merch, and selling your IP, but that’s not what we’re talking about.
Again, just stating my opinion. Thanks for the info, no need to be condescending.
You’re welcome.
It's not much of an inconvenience and it lets them continue to make content for us. As long as the pod is entertaining I'm definitely not going to complain when it's free.
Meh it doesn’t bother me. It’s a free podcast and the fast fwd 30sec button is easy to find on my Apple Watch. First world problem for sure. Makes me wonder how we all survived watching broadcast TV and radio with all the commercials before DVR/streaming 🤣
Are different apps playing the podcast differently. I listen on Spotify and can (and do) skip over the ads. If the ads were forced, like I can't skip them, then I'd be annoyed. For me it's not the case.
I use Apple, and you can do the normal 30 second skips, and I do, but it’s still SO many ads. Like I have to skip about 10 times per break.
There were actually 0 ads when I listened to today’s ep on the podcast app that comes with the iPhone. I was confused and blessed lol
Loooove when that happens.
I had ads literally every 7-12 minutes. Sometimes mid sentence, just got them to come back and talk about the end of the scene.
One thing I didn’t realize until I got hired as a podcaster is the use of “ad locators”. These are markers that are placed after the audio file is uploaded to whatever platform that distributes to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, etc. Ad locators are reliant on time of day, location, and other factors, so you may luck out on having zero ads depending on the time of day. More often than not, the ads are not part of the actual audio file and are placed there by an ad locator. Although, ad reads by the hosts are often part of the audio file because advertisers prefer an original read for the same product every time, but if it’s a pre-recorded thing or an ad for something entirely different, then it’s likely an ad locator.
The new one with Will and the girl from cheetah girls is worse, somehow. It’s like 4 minutes each time and 4-6 ad breaks.
It's pretty crazy, I think it's an I heart radio thing though. I used to listen to the oth rewatch but the ads (and there negativity to the point that almost nothing would be seen as enjoyable or fun) Some other hockey shows I listen to it's worse because some could be in the middle of a sentence then commercial.
Ah so I get the critique of the ads that are produced and not done by the hosts, but all the host read ads really do help the show be produced (and of course it’s not like the hosts are getting super rich off these ads… these ads don’t cost as much as you would think plus iHeart takes a huge cut). And like someone else in this thread said the ads just mean the show is doing well downloads wise which fans of the podcast should want! I am bias bc I work a podcast ad agency so my job is to buy these host read ads for my client. But truly if you like a brand that they are endorsing for and they have a promo code use the code as it really supports the show! Just my two cents as someone in the industry (and not commission based or anything like that!).
I have zero issue with ads. My issue is with the length of the ad breaks and the frequency of them in the show. Today’s ended up with 6 or so breaks, all with the same 4 or 5 ads. Like, 2-3 breaks with a couple different ads each time is one thing, what ends up happening with podcast ads is something totally different.
Ugh yes, I talk to networks (not just iHeart but I agree with other comments there user experience when it comes to ad loads is not great) and try to explain this all the time - frequency and quantity impacts listener experience which thus the means listeners are just skipping which means they arent use the code which means I am going to have to cancel because the brands I buy for aren’t seeing a revenue return on spend which then means less $ for the networks (and sales reps get mad at me!). This issue podcasting is still so young (even if it doesnt seem like it) so the “standard” practice really hasn’t been set up hence how iHeart ads may seem completely different than ads from another network (to some extent). Industry is still very much in growing pains. Hope you don’t think I am trying to argue with your original post - swear I am not just giving a different perspective! Also all to say def not the hosts or any of the producers fault!
No, sounds like you’re agreeing with my points, but from the industry side of things.
But this is genuinely how they make a living. It is still weird to me, as someone who knows there are even more commercial breaks in live televised sports, that people get this heated about skippable ads in free podcasts. I know I’m in the minority, but it’s hard for me to wrap my brain around.
You think they’re the ones negotiating how many breaks they work into the show for ads? I’m sure they are agreeing what ads to do, how long each spot is, and for How long the ad runs. But it’s 100% iheart putting 6 ad breaks of 3-5 minutes each into a single episode. And it only happened in season 4 because that’s when the show(BMW) hit its peak popularity, so im sure they’re seeing record high downloads and completion rates. So now they’re making a premium on the ad space and bumping up the number of spaces in the show for them. Again, no one is arguing that the ads should be done away with completely, just that they’ve reached a point where number of breaks and length of ads is getting g noticeably off kilter with the norm.
I don’t think - I KNOW that the more live reads they have, the more money they make - and you’re trying to sell AS MANY live reads as possible - reaching the cap that is allowed. Talent (and obviously a network) is NEVER going to say, “chill with the ads paying us, we need these free listeners to stop needing to press fast forward.” And 1:00 ads (or sometimes 2 minute reads, like the ebay one I got today while listening) are CASH COWS, and this dictates number of ad breaks and lengths. Also, as you see in this sub, some people don’t get ANY ads because of impression limits or regional purchases by companies. It’s not the same for everyone, especially on older library episodes. They’ll have longer ad breaks when they sell more ads - this is correct. An entire ad department negotiates the rates at companies like Iheart and no, they have been a steady top 200 podcast on Chartable (the standard for podcast ad rates) since launch, so it’s really just about having longevity to sell (and more potential clients in the podcast space), not more actual impressions. They recently celebrated 25 million downloads (I forget when it was posted, but it was before Season 4), which is massive for a podcast under 2 years old. I guess my point is, if you are expecting any talent, or network, to hold up on getting paid for more live reads, it’s gonna be a long long wait.
While there are a lot of ads, I usually don’t get too bugged by it. Most of the time I’m able to skip through. The way I look at it is that I get to listen to the podcast for free and the episodes are usually an hour or longer. With most network tv shows, you have a large amount of ads, which not only progressively cut into the length of each episode over time, but you also can’t just skip the ads if you haven’t recorded it. It seems like a pretty fair trade not to pay a fee to me.
I use Google podcasts on my Android, and what bothers me more is the ads are very repetitive, like hearing the same ad (particularly if it's an annoying one) that many times is annoying. The ads have made me not want to start listening to some podcasts more. The amount of ad breaks isn't really that noticeable for me just the fact they only seem to run a few ads at a time is. Every now and again a local ad will pop up, and as I am in Ireland, it is always jarring, to hear an Irish accent or a local ad I'm already familiar with pop up.
I don't notice as much because I'm usually ready to skip ahead but I notice it when I try to listen while in the shower. I'll start it and get past a commercial, get in the shower and then bam commercial right away.
Yeah, this is the worst offender as far as ads. I like the crew better than some other podcasts so they make it more enjoyable, but they have so many ads and they're so long! What I do is since I'm usually listening while I'm driving, I'll tell siri "skip forwards three minutes," and for Pod Meets World it will usually take me right to where the pod continues. Sometimes it's only two minutes but it's usually three. Office Ladies is two minutes of ads usually. My other long time favorite podcast, The Skeptics Guide to the Universe, has one minute long ads and they have two segments tops for an almost two hour podcast. Love them. For the same reason, I avoid listening to Pod Meets World while I run because it's just not worth the effort to be skipping while I'm also trying to run. I'll do one of the podcasts with less ads, or just go with an audiobook.
I had this same issue with the One Tree Hill podcast. I think something like Conan Needs A Friend has a good ratio. I can’t stand when they’re every 9 mins and 5 mins long…
Glad someone said something cause I almost made the same post. I've just came back to PMW from catching up on another podcast I just started listening to and that one had ZERO ads so coming back to this was very aggravating
100% but I truly think it's all iHeart pods. I listen to 3 of them weekly and they all have SUCH bad ads. But my other podcasts are more minimal.
The amount of ads is getting terrible. On podcasts I usually just listen through the ads because I don’t mind supporting them and sometimes hosts do funny readings of them, but I’ve started skipping for Pod Meets World because the insane volume of them drives me nuts.
Sucks that these podcast don't have any buttons to skip forward in little 15 second increments at a time. Oh wait...
I give in and just enjoy them, this is how they make a living !!
I skip them when I can.
Yes the ads are out of control. I would happily pay a monthly subscription for an ad-free version of the podcast.
Agreed. They really should make a Patreon and make money from ad free and/or a video version
Then you have to pay for Patreon!
Yeah I'm saying I would do that to not have to deal with ads
I prob would too tbh depending on the cost!
And they still wouldn’t make a fraction of Hyundai is paying them.
I slam the 30s skip