eMarketer reports that nearly 5 million people will have downloaded podcasts in 2005, up from 820,000 in 2004 according to research done by Bridge Ratings.

Bridge’s press release suggests that podcasting will hit critical mass in 2010 with 45 – 75 million users.

Some other interesting facts:

• iTunes was referenced as the most often accessed portal for podcast downloads.
• Currently 20% download shows weekly.
• Less than 20% of podcast listeners listen to their podcast downloads on an mp3 player.

You can view the study presentation here.

Rich Brooks
Web Marketing, Maine