I knew that Clear Channel was entering the Internet Radio arena, but what I didn't pick up was that that they plan on Podcasting as part of their new Web strategy.

Clear Channel will make five-minute, ad-supported segments available for download from station sites (and they have over 1,200 to choose from). Z100 Phonetap and morning drive-time shows are among the offerings the company plans to make available as downloads.

Read more:
I Love Radio | The Future of Radio

Now, I could care less if CC is successful with this attempt (ad supported 5 minute nuggets are pretty much useless to me) but this is a huge achievement for the Podcasting front. It makes the format legit. I'd like to see the Satellite Radio providers come on board with this progressive medium. During our awesome discussion about whether Internet Radio will be bigger than Satellite Radio, I really started to wonder if XM or SIRIUS would entertain the thought of delivering Podcasts through a dedicated station. A lofty thought, I know. But think about it.

XM and SIRIUS have an audience that is looking for specialized content. Want Tech Talk? Sure no problem! Want to listen to Dawn and Drew or the Daily Source Code? Just subscribe through the XM/SIRIUS Podcast interface. Why not use the Birds to stream a "my Podcasts" channel to your XM2go or ReGo unit? All the infrastructure is there already, all the satcasters need to do is create an interface for each listener to subscribe through.

I dunno. Maybe I'm smoking something, but to me it's the ultimate in custom radio.