Want Podcast. Ask Wizzard. And if you think podcasts aren’t big…think again!

Said Wizzard Media CEO Chris Spencer in a long string of late night emails, “There have never been numbers this high."

Wizzard Media’s network reaches a largely North American audience, 85% of their downloaders are in the US or Canada, urban dwellers, mostly on the coasts. Next on the list of more than 20 countries is the UK.

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With hundreds of millions of podcasts flying around from thousands of producers through the internet and on to iPods, iMacs, PC and other digital devices the advertising opportunity is far from vague. Actually reaching people who are actually choosing to listen – rather than not quite reaching folks simply exposed to but not really engaged with a program’s content – challenges the conventional wisdom of selling advertising by the ton…and hoping for the best.

“We’ve merged three podcasting hosts together to bring mass to the market to attract advertisers,” said Spencer. And herein lies the service Wizzard Media offers to ad people who can grasp the concept. They have extended the ad aggregator concept into audio.

There’s another truth in podcastings growth: people with personal digital audio players (iPods, et.al.) are downloading much more than music, track for track. Wizzard Media CEO Chris Spencer describes podcast downloaders as a “user generated content hungry audience.”

To satisfy time shifting urges several broadcasters – those who actually produce content rather rotate tunes – offer podcasts. Confiscatory music rights fees prevent including music. Podcasts, then, are typically speech-based programs. And they have production values not typically heard through other (read: broadcast) sources. Noting that a significant portion of Wizzard Media’s downloaders are in the UK, the BBC has aggressively pursued a digital, user-generated strategy that has expanded its’ audience and, arguably, expanded interest in actively seeking audio (and video) content.

And Wizzard Media’s top downloads offer more than a subtle clue about audio content that actively attracts people. ReFrederator offers classic cartoon tracks. (“It’s a bird. It’s a plane. It’s…”) AskANinja is quick comedy (“ Do ninjas minature golf?”) from VJs Kent Nichols and Douglas Sarine Grammar Girl, Survival Spanish and JapanesePod101 offer education in your pocket. IndieFeed offers poetry and music not otherwise heard on Jack 98.5.

There is one more digital reality check in the podcasting evolution. The vast majority of downloads, at least from the Wizzard Media network, are independent productions, shows, stories and ear candy. Homogeneous content need not apply.

There’s a buzz on podcasts. The build has been slow and steady, viral, like everything else that builds from new media. It remains to be seen if internet gadfly / broadcaster Mark Cuban is right: “Have fun but don’t expect to make any money.”

Big media might just take a lesson from Wizzard Media’s success. Compelling content, still and always, attracts folks. Put enough of those folks together and you have a serious market.

Want Podcast. Ask Wizzard. And if you think podcasts aren’t big…think again!

Wizzard Media is a podcast hosting network. Last year they distributed 360 million episodes, individual podcasts. And you think podcasts are but a tiny grain in the great media content desert. In March this year Wizzard distributed 70 million podcasts.