Honolulu, Hawaii May 24, 2007 — The Third Annual People’s Choice Podcast Awards Platinum Sponsor was announced today by Podcast Connect, Inc., the podcast marketing firm that manages the awards. Wizzard Media, the world’s largest podcast hosting network and part of Wizzard Software, has signed on as the Platinum Sponsor for this year’s event.
The Peoples Choice Podcast Awards Nominations open on July 1st at PodcastAwards.com, followed by the voting process, and will culminate with an awards ceremony on September 28th in Ontario, California during the Podcast and New Media Expo (newmediaexpo.com). The awards will be presented by Platinum Sponsor Wizzard Media.
“I am very excited about this year’s event,” said Todd Cochrane, CEO of Podcast Connect, and founder of the Podcast Awards. “Last year, through award sponsorships, we were able to award podcasters almost $8,000 in cash and prizes, with additional website exposure through 2006-2007 of eight million plus hits.”
Because Podcast listeners nominate their favorite shows directly at the Podcast Awards website, and with the entire community voting on the final slate of nominated shows, every podcaster and their respective shows have a chance of winning the “People’s Choice” Podcast Award.
“We’re honored to take part in these awards for the podcasting community,” said Chris Spencer, CEO of Wizzard Media. “Podcasters are some of the hardest working people out there and many of the great shows are still under the radar. These awards are a welcome reward for all their hard work, while at the same time providing the podcasting audience the opportunity to vote for who they love the most.”
Over 350,000 people voted on the nominated podcasts last year, and over 250 people attended the awards ceremony. In the last year, the number of Internet users who reported downloading podcasts increased 79% to 17 million, according to a report from the Pew Internet & American Life Project. Reflecting that growth, Awards will be given in over 20 categories. Additionally, the podcastawards.com website will feature new nomination procedures and additional sponsorship options.
About Podcast Connect, Inc.
Podcast Connect Inc. is an innovative marketing firm which has developed into a powerhouse marketing arm for the podcasting community. Its mission statement is simple: “Podcasters do the work; podcasters get paid.” Its model is based on trust and respect.
About Wizzard Media
Wizzard Media is the world’s leading podcasting distribution company. Podcasts are a means for independent and professional content creators to publish audio and video shows for the world to enjoy over the Internet or on mp3 players, such as the Apple iPod. Podcasting is a relatively new phenomenon, but Wizzard Media collectively serves millions of podcast downloads per month through media aggregators like Apple’s iTunes and other podcast directories. For more information, please visit www.wizzard.tv. Wizzard Media is a division of Wizzard Software, a leader in speech technology development.
Media contacts:
Todd Cochrane
Podcast Connect, Inc.
808-741-4923
For Wizzard Media
Amy Bonetti
Big Mouth Communications
415-384-0900
Susie Marino
415-613-9138