Following up an earlier posting, Podnews’ James Cridland once again calls into question the validity of the iTunes Podcast Charts. In an update, he points to a ranking chart from late March, with five “suspect” podcasts that placed within the top 10.
In the earlier post, Cridland brought to light a company called Podcast Influencer, which, for a fee, guarantees placement within the top 50 of the iTunes U.S. Podcast Chart.
Now, he points to five “unusual” podcasts that made an appearance in the top 10 in early spring. While not saying if a company such as Podcast Influencer was instrumental in getting these podcasts into the top of the chart, Cridland pointed out some interesting facts and common themes from these programs. He noted that all of the artwork is very similar; the topic of each podcast is similar and is also a niche topic (most about building an online business); all five of these podcasts placed in consecutive order on the chart; four of the five shows are hosted by someone named Mike; three of the podcasts feature the same guest, Sam Freni, who is a host for another one in the suspect group; the podcast domains are registered by the same person; none of the podcasts had any episodes within the top 200 at the time; and all of the podcasts highlighted began at a similar time and contained only a few episodes.
“This appears to be strong evidence that the placing of all of these podcasts are the result of gaming the charts,” Cridland wrote in his post.
The iTunes Podcast Chart is based on subscriptions, with weight given to new subscribers. That, coupled with the fact that the iTunes chart only ranks activity from those within the Apple ecosystem, has Cridland leading the charge on calling the charts into question.
He noted in his post that many of the earlier charts are no longer available, which “might show that Apple Podcasts is cracking down on companies that manipulate the charts,” he wrote. “Perhaps it also demonstrates, if anyone doubted it, that manipulation of the Apple Podcast Chart is a reality.”
