Libsyn announced that they are redesigning their stats system to allow for IAB compliance. What this means is that podcasters will see new features and changes to their stats reporting. It also means that advertisers will now have access to more accurate, measurable data.
In fact Libsyn states that what you may have been seeing for download numbers up to this point could have been inflated due to bots, sampling, pre-loading players or pages, and “ill-behaving podcast apps”. On top of that, the larger the media file, the greater the variation.
As disappointing as it might be to see your download numbers fall because of more accurate measuring methods, it’s still better than relying on a false perception of how many listens your show is receiving.
Here are the highlights from their latest blog article:
- Libsyn is working toward the IAB’s Podcast Measurement compliance with a conversion to reporting daily unique downloads
- The stats reporting will be upgraded and new features will be implemented
- By December 2017, the daily unique number will be shown alongside the stats numbers
- The use of daily unique downloads and IAB compliant metrics are meant to eliminate inflation of download numbers
- Some shows will see larger download decreases than others
Some shows like mine have already seen a decrease in download numbers (up to 50% per day in my case) so don’t be surprised if you see a dramatic decrease in your download numbers too. This doesn’t mean less people are listening, it means that you are now getting more accurate data with which to evaluate decisions and direction with your show.
Between Apple allowing more access to stats and Libsyn and other hosting companies coming into IAB compliance, the podcast industry is becoming more standardized (for better or worse) every day.