12/7/2023 0 Comments Itunes podcast statsSo when a listener presses play on an undownloaded episode, like episodes in Spotify, Google Podcasts, Podcast Addict, Pocket Casts, or just about every other app not named Apple Podcasts or Overcast, the download request normally happens in real-time. But that aggregated data, unavailable to anyone not directly logging into their platform, is utterly useless for anything more than vanity metrics. Apple will of course counter this by stating that the data is in Apple Podcasts Connect. Let me state that more plainly: neither you nor your podcasting hosting company has any idea when (or if) a listener actually listens to an episode that was auto-downloaded by Apple Podcasts. The episode is already on the listener’s device and the download event shows up in the show’s stats from the time the episode was released, so there’s nothing else to report. If a listener presses play on an episode that was auto-downloaded, neither the publisher nor host have any idea that the action happened. And it’s damaging to the industry that these apps leave it as such. But is it right that auto-downloads is the default setting in 2021 for Apple Podcasts? There are absolutely valid reasons to download (or even auto-download) podcasts: when on a plane or a subway train, for example, or if you’re on an expensive data plan. Other apps, notably Google Podcasts and Spotify, default to only downloading a podcast when a listener wants to play it. And, if this blog from Simplecast a few years ago is right, so does Stitcher (though it’s had a rebuild since then). Overcast downloads every new episode from a podcast until your phone almost fills up – even if you don’t listen to a single one. Some other apps are even more enthusiastic. If they do re-enable it, and either non-playing condition is hit again, the app will again turn off auto-downloads for that podcast. The user can re-enable auto-downloads in the settings of that podcast to make it start downloading again, or just leave it to notify them of new episodes but not download. If either condition is hit, the app stops auto-downloading episodes of that podcast.
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