Angelie New Media Technologies 08

A podcast is a series of audio files which are distributed through the internet, to be downloaded and played on iPods or MP3 players. These podcasts can be listened to whenever and wherever the audience wants to. Podcasts are normally released and distributed through podcatching clients. The main podcatching client is Apple's iTunes. Other podcathing clients include Microsoft's Zune Marketplace and Podget (for Linux users)

Skinscast is a weekly podcast which is, according to the Skinscast website, "so crammed with Skins stuff that we had to make up a new word and everything". Each week after the latest episode of Skins is aired on E4 (Channel 4's entertainment channel), the podcast can be downloaded through iTunes. The podcasts discuss the episode which has just aired, and delves deeper into the characters storylines, as well as finding out behind the scenes 'gossip and drama' from the Skins cast members.
One character is the main focus of each weeks episode. So, each week's podcast interviews the actor playing the episodes main character, and it is this actor's picture which is used in their episode's part of the 'What's in Store' section of the Skinscast page. These interviews are mostly focused on the actor's characters and what they've gone through in the most recent episode.
In the podcasts, other Skins actors are also interviewed and they often talk about things like backstage gossip (often heard from Mitch Hewer who plays Maxxie, Nicholas Hoult who plays Tony, and Joe Dempsie who plays Chris) as well as interviews about the actors themselves.
On the main page of the Skinscast section of the Skins website, visitors are given the option to share the page with a friend, by sending them an email through the website.

The audience for Skinscast would be fans of Skins who want to hear about backstage gossip as well as watch the episodes. The audience would be able to listen to their favourite actors whenever they want. Once the audience has listened to the podcast more than once, they could skip past some parts to get to their favourite bits. The podcasts enable the audience to hear about things that they may not have otherwise, so it extends their experiences of the programme.

The main institution involved is Channel 4. By extending the audiences experiences of Skins, they can encourage customers to stay loyal to them, if they offer better extended experiences than their competitors. Podcasting has made it a lot easier for Channel 4 to offer audio interviews and discussions, whereas before they would have only been able to offer those in text form. Podcasting also enables Channel 4 to create a symbiotic link between themselves and Apple, since audience members have to download Skinscast through Apple's iTunes.

1. Time shift
   The audience can choose to listen to the podcasts whenever is convenient for them, and they are not at all restricted by scheduling.
   
2. Portability
   Once the podcast has been downloaded onto an iPod, the audience can take that iPod wherever they want and therefore listen to the podcasts wherever they want.
   
3. Vertical Integration
   In order to download Skinscast, the website takes you straight to iTunes. Apple's iTunes only plays audio files on Apple's iPods.
   
4. Interactivity
   The audience can send in their photos and questions for the cast. They are also given the opportunity to enter competitions where they can win Skins props.