Interesting Numbers
So I have been working a bit on trying to figure out what listeners listen to what, and where they crossover, etc. I wanted to do this while ELR’s numbers were still current, given the recent announcement. The result was quite interesting for me. I meant for these to be strictly for me to plan for the year, work out sponsorships, etc etc. But I figured you might find them interesting as well.
Here is how the total listeners over ALL FrogPants shows pan out in terms of percentage.
While it was no shock that The Instance has a huge percentage of total downloads, what took me by surprise a little was how some of the newer stuff has grown in a very short amount of time, particularly, Film Sack, Current Geek, and AppSlappy.
ELR has always been a bit of an acquired taste, so seeing it’s lower turnout still represents a sizable number, but not as compared to everything else. Also, a scrubbing of the IP’s indicates that nearly 90% of those listeners also spread around to the other shows as well.
Diary of a Cartoonist, oddly enough, gives me some of my most frequent email feedback, all while being the lowest on the list. I think ELR and Diary both stand as examples of shows with a smaller overall base of listeners, but a super dedicated base nonetheless.
Anyway, I find stuff like this interesting. Looking at numbers takes all the emotion and assumption out of the equation, and leaves you with the raw truthiness of it all. I hate math, but I love what math tells us.
UPDATE: Some are asking where the Fourcast numbers are…I don’t have access to those. In that particular case, Tom Merritt produces and hosts those files.
Category: Journal 36 comments »
February 13th, 2010 at 8:11 pm
Hey Scott, Interesting data, I found you through the instance and now follow all your shows except Diary ( Haven’t seen it in the feed too often enough to click it), I am curious about your 6th podcast, Fourcast ( One of my favorites) Isn’t represented here nor does it show in the Frogpants feed. Does Tom produce that show?
February 13th, 2010 at 8:28 pm
I didn’t even know about this “diary of a cartoonist” podcast. Subscribed.
February 13th, 2010 at 8:29 pm
I really am disappointed to see ELR go – the Instance was my first Frogpants podcast and was what got me listening to ELR. I am so glad I found it because it introduced me to the full repertoire of your shows, of which ELR is my favorite My biggest disappointment with all this is missing out on the opportunity to hear Obsidian. You and Brian will live on in the podcasting world with your other shows, but as of now there doesn’t seem to be much opportunity to get more of O. I hope you consider possibly inviting him back to join you on any new project, because I sure will miss hearing you two fight.
But yes, the numbers don’t lie… ELR might have run its course, and I respect your decision. I do have a favor to ask… do you ever think you will make available the older archives of ELR that no longer are available on iTunes?
February 13th, 2010 at 9:15 pm
The Instance was the first of your podcasts that I discovered. I have since listened to several of the others, but ELR has been my favorite. I am sad to see it end, and am also a little surprised that the percentage of ELR listeners is that low.
I enjoy ELR because of it’s diversity. You cover many topics that I enjoy- Movies, games, technology, etc etc. I also enjoyed listening to O and Brian.
I only discovered ELR a few months ago, but I have gone back to listen to many of the older episodes of the show. I enjoyed the time I had following the podcast and thank you for the great shows you provided.
Like Chandra said, hopefully we will get the opportunity to hear more of O and Brian included in your future projects.
February 13th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
Seeing the instance as your main fair dosnt surprise me. Also your note that a sizable portion is into multiples of the thing you do also disentangle surprise me I love your shows and can see how if someone else started on one of your shows and loved it that they would also like other things you produce. I started on the instance to appslappy comic reader (waiting on the instance app) and about to try out film sack soon also. And tweeter follower. Keep up the good work.
Joe
February 13th, 2010 at 9:45 pm
Thanks, Joe!
February 13th, 2010 at 10:00 pm
If nothing else, it made me aware of more podcasts than I though you did, and I will be checking out at least Diary, and probably Current Geek as well. I only recently picked up ELR, so now I’m sad it’s going away.
February 13th, 2010 at 10:09 pm
‘wha Hoppined?
Dude. Seriously- tell me I’m wrong, but cancelling the flagship ELR- what really attracted me and doubtless others to Frogpants studios (before there was a frogpants) Please sir- reconsider.
Even though it’s been few and far between, it’s been the light at the end of a long days tunnel.
Please, don’t kill the goose.
February 13th, 2010 at 10:45 pm
O nOOs. I didn’t hear the show yet! What a way to find out!
Well, it’s sad to hear about ELR. I think it took me a few shows to get into, so I definitely understand the ‘acquired taste’ bit. But I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment. I only hope there is more to come from the Scott Johnson Bag O’tricks. I know that my husband could pretty much listen to you and Tom Merrit all day… I think it’s a man-crush!
February 13th, 2010 at 10:57 pm
Scott,
I first came because of The Instance, though I am an ex-WoW player so I don’t really listen there anymore. Now ELR is easily one of my favorite podcasts. I totally respect your decision, I’m surprised the ELR listership is that low compared to others. I just liked the variety of movie/game/ pop culture topics that you guys covered. I also just think you, Brian, and O make a fantastic group. As said above, we need more O.
February 13th, 2010 at 11:08 pm
Yeah but ELR was my favorite. I think there was great chemistry there. Oh well I will miss it.
February 13th, 2010 at 11:54 pm
Hey Scott,
These are interesting numbers for me personally, as the only podcasts of yours that I listened to are ELR and Filmsack (I don’t play WoW and I don’t have an Iphone!). So I am part of 6% that has very little crossover into any of the other parts of the graph.
Seeing this information, I guess it is pretty clear why ELR was the one to go.
I only recently found Current Geek but I will subscribe for a few weeks and give it a shot.
One final thing that I find interesting is the amount of people across Buzz, your site and his site, that say they are going to miss O(bsidian), myself included!! I guess that we can still hear you and Brian on Film Sack but until O gets his Audio Rant back up and running again, the only contact we will have with him will be through his comic and blog.
In any case, I really hope that O is aware of how people feel about him and how much he will be missed!!!
Thanks for all the great ELR episodes.
-C!
February 14th, 2010 at 1:25 am
When you wrote that you cancel ELR I wanna to see your corpse, so I can piss on It. its like you killed a duck that was laying golden eggs, but you are still milking a dead cow with that 47 others podcast. I loved ELR, I can play every episodes on a loop, and you took it… ARGHHHH!
February 14th, 2010 at 2:14 am
Is that for the last shows? Or is this a Mean for all shows of the year? I hope it is not combined listeners over a period of time…
February 14th, 2010 at 8:28 am
I too hate Math…but it does help us understand. Oh how I wish 2+2=10 sometime…especially when it’s dollars in my pocket!
February 14th, 2010 at 9:47 am
Just adding my voice to the chorus lamenting the loss of ELR and hoping that O joins the roster of some other show. When I first started listening to ELR I found O to be a bit contrarian but a couple of shows later and I was a big fan!
O brought a unique perspective that it would be sad to lose completely. Not to mention that some of the funniest things I’ve heard on all Scott’s podcasts were the debates between him and O with Brian as a kind of referee. The relationship and interaction between Scott and O on ELR reminded me of brothers in that they might disagree and poke fun at each other a lot but it always felt like there was a deep affection between them.
So it’s sad to hear that the O, Brian and Scott family is breaking up. Hope you can cheer us up at some point Scott by announcing O’s return in some other project!
February 14th, 2010 at 9:50 am
Oh and in terms of the shows I started out with The Instance- although I don’t play WOW I just wanted to see what a WOW podcast was like and what was going on with the game. Then during the show I heard mention of ELR and through ELR I found Diary of a Cartoonist, Four Cast, Film Sack and Current Geek. I agree that ELR was something of an acquired taste but it also felt like the glue that held all the shows together… oh well, thanks for all the shows and I look forward to whatever future projects come up!
February 14th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Boo at appslappy being #2. Definitely the weakest show of yours. It’s stale, you and Eric have hardly any chemistry (unlike your other shows =)), and about 30-40 minutes too long than what it needs to be.
February 14th, 2010 at 11:17 am
Sad to see ELR go. It’s been my first podcast and the only one I followed for more than a handful of episodes.
Since I don’t play WoW and don’t have an iPhone, The Instance and AppSlappy offer nothing of interest to me. Maybe I’ll listen into CurrentGeek or FilmSack, we’ll see. And I do enjoy fourcast, so there’s at least that.
But no more O, Brian and you in one podcast? Too bad really, you guys always cracked me up.
February 14th, 2010 at 1:12 pm
Am one of the many who hate to see ELR come to an end. I am a fan of most of your podcasts, but there was something special about ELR. I think you guys had fantastic chemistry together and there was something very appealing and fresh about the edge of the cuff delivery. Any chance you guys might just take time off and circle back around to ELR one day?
Thanks for the shows.
February 14th, 2010 at 1:26 pm
Very sad to see ELR go, I am one of the few that have made podcasts my main source of media consumption, far more interesting than the packaged nonsense on TV these days,
I can understand why your new shows might have a wider general appeal than a bunch of cartoonists geeking out over scifi, but I loved it
February 14th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
I wonder if Scott has read Kevin Kelly’s “1000 True Fans” article. (http://www.kk.org/thetechnium/archives/2008/03/1000_true_fans.php)
The idea is that the small group of hard core fans of a show like ELR might in the long run mean more than the many johnny-come-lately fans of a show like AppSlappy. I suspect that AppSlappy will decline sharply when the decline begins because eventually something better than the iPhone will come along, and nobody will be interested in apps. I also wonder how long FilmSack can be sustained, given that it seems to have the highest overhead (four guys must find time to watch and take notes on a movie each week, plus Scott has to pull out audio clips and assemble them, etc). Even The Instance is vulnerable to people losing interest in WOW.
Anyway, I’ve never been business-minded; I’m too much of a gut feeling guy. My gut feeling is that cutting ELR might have greater unforeseen consequences. Be interesting to see what happens.
February 14th, 2010 at 4:33 pm
Hi Scott,
Just wanted to thank you for ELR. It has taken me through 4 moves, a divorce, basic training, a marriage and a promotion. I’m very sad to see it go.
February 14th, 2010 at 7:11 pm
Hi Scott,
I will of course dearly miss ELR, but I know it must be pretty hard for you already, so I won’t go into any personal lamenting. I understand the reasoning behind it, and I support and respect your decision.
What I really want to say is a huge thank you for all the happiness you brought into my life with ELR throughout the years. You and the whole ELR team created a hundred treasured memories and kept me company during countless travels. You opened the doors to podcasting for me, and it’s been awesome. I owe you big, and I really look forward to all the awesome stuff you’ll be doing in the future. I’m a ScoJo fan for life.
This is a crazy idea, but maybe after a 5 year hiatus, ELR could make an awesome comeback with all the new stories and ideas and crazy geek media from the world of tomorrow!
I’m just a starving college student right now, but give me a couple years and I will happily pay you anything you ask if you release the whole run of the show!
Thanks again!
February 14th, 2010 at 7:43 pm
Steve J. makes some interesting points about core audience, I’m sure Scott has thought about that as he’s not a stupid guy.
My own thoughts about those numbers are that there is probably some bleed over effect going on due to the additional co-hosts on a few of those shows. Tom Merrit is on Current Geek and Brian Ibbott is on Film Sack. Both of them are giants in the podcasting world and I have to imagine that some of their fans must have crossed over.
You’ve also got Randy from the Instance on Film Sack as well, so anyone who finds him entertaining is likely to crossover as well.
The Instance is obviously strong, it will be interesting to see what happens when interest in WOW eventually fades out as it ultimately will have to. I’m guessing that something will replace it, perhaps another Blizzard property, I assume Scott will attempt to bridge the podcast to whatever that new property is when that day arrives.
AppSlappy IMO is very similar to Infendo in the sense that it’s
popularity is intrinsically tied to a device that is momentarily a hot item, in the casr of Infendo that item was the Wii. Scott stopped participating in that podcast, I don’t know his reasons, but I suspect it was a combination of falling interest in Nintendo and the fact that I don’t think Scott hosted that one, so he likely didn’t get much for his efforts, at least it would seem so.
That’s important since he made the switch to living off these podcasts, and his other projects.
That’s why it’s really hard for me to make any criticism over his choice to drop ELR, after all he does this all for free, and he needs to feed his kids (and pay for all the gadgets he loves).
Having said that I do have one admittedly selfish complaint about the way it ended. I don’t think ending the show with an 8 minute solo monologue is fair to the fans or to the show. I think the show deserves to end in the right way, even if it might come back someday. I realize I have no right to really demand anything from a guy who has provided me with countless hours of free entertainment, that’s why I admit that it’s a selfish request. But the truth is that it feels unfinished in the same way that a tv series that ends on a cliffhanger feels unfinished when the network cancels it.
Scott, regardless of what you do, I do thank you Brian, O, and Andrew (even though he left long ago) and your many guests over the years for the show. I think it leaves a void, and I can’t see how it will be filled, but I’m glad you shared it with us as long as you did.
Matt
February 15th, 2010 at 4:45 am
Another voice in the wilderness saying how sad it is to see ELR go. Like a few people, I found ELR through The Instance, and must admit I didn’t really ‘get’ it at first, but it became one of my favourite podcasts and set a really high standard in production values.
I always listened to every episode of ELR, which is more than I can say about The Instance as my interest in WoW is usually defined by how much spare time I have. The Instance is always useful as a ‘catch up’ for what I’ve missed since I was away from WoW.
I always enjoy podcasts that are ‘just guys talking about stuff’ and ELR was the best of the bunch, funny and memorable. It will be missed, but I live in hope that maybe Scott, O & Brian may do some one-off specials from time to time.
Once again, Thanks Scott, O and Brian for such a wonderful show.
February 15th, 2010 at 5:24 pm
It’s really ironic that I was listening to ELR episode 200 last night and during it, Scott was discussing how long the show will go on. He mentioned 2050 haha. I wish it wasn’t ending but all good things come to an end eventually.
February 16th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
I am also sad to see ELR go and I really hope that Scott will set something up so they can do a grand finale send off of ELR at Nerdtacular 2010. It deserves a fantastic closing episode.
February 16th, 2010 at 8:04 pm
I find it a bit odd that ELR, the very first FrogPants podcast ever, is nearly the last in terms of listeners. It’s what blazed the trail for all the others, and I’m disappointed to see it go. I can see, Scott, why you decided to stop doing ELR: because of all the other podcasts you run. I’m a huge Instance fan, and I would absolutely HATE to see that go, considering it’s my favorite WoW podcast out of the 8 I listen to, and I’m always craving for more episodes. I guess the loss of ELR is just another bump in the road. I look forward to more episodes of The Instance and Film Sack, and I’m considering subscribing to other Frogpants podcasts, too. Until next time, good luck Scott.
February 16th, 2010 at 9:13 pm
thank you scott…. ELR has been my favorite podcast for the past 2+ years. I have and will be be listening to the old episodes… good luck with all you do in the future.
February 17th, 2010 at 9:24 pm
Thank you for keeping me entertained, laughing, and thinking about your topics for soooooooo many hours!!! Yeah… Math sucks. Especially in this situation. I’ll be subscribing to your others to get a dose of your off-beat wisdom. Thanks again Scott, O, and Brian!
February 18th, 2010 at 11:46 am
ELR was a great show and I have listened to it ever since I discovered The Instance all those years ago. Well lets put that extra time into your other shows or use that energy for something completely new!
Greetings from a snowy Gothenburg, Sweden.
Peter
February 19th, 2010 at 3:53 pm
Do you enjoy making ELR? That should be the reason why you continue to do it or not. I think to end the show because it has a lower % of downloads is insane. Unless doing the show takes so much time that it’s stopping you from doing something else that you’re passionate about. But the reason you’re giving is numbers based so that’s what I am basing my reaction on.
I realize you’re a professional who is trying to maintain a career, but to be-little what you’ve created and the love that people have for ELR by basing it’s value via a percentage… that saddens me as a fan.
I still look forward to great things from you and remain a fan, but in this one case I think your reasoning is clouded. Some things in life can just be about *fun* and you never seemed to lack for that on any episode I listened to.
February 22nd, 2010 at 5:56 am
Wow! I am quite surprised with those numbers. Most surprised with the ELR percentage. ELR was my favorite shows of them all because of he trio, and even better when Randy was a part of it. I am glad I was listening for the years it was available to me. I am however also glad to see that the new shows are doing amazing in terms of numbers. Scott, I say this ” I know that your new shows will entertain me as all your shows to date have. I am glad to see new content in form of podcasts to entertain me for numerous hours on end. I would also like to say Thank You to you and the rest of the crew for filling my ears with outstanding entertainment(O would probably turn that into something wrong)! It saddens me that ELR is gone but with me not forgotten(thanks to them new prints and show archives). Thanks again Scott and keep up the good work. You have many fans who faithfully look forward to new content.”
Ok, now that the speech is over I have one question. How many famous people are from Utah again?
Cheers!
-Jason
March 3rd, 2010 at 8:02 am
Please start up a new project with O… He made ELR for me
June 1st, 2010 at 4:12 pm
I know I’m late to the rememberance, but thought I’d chime in anyway; ELR was and still is my favorite Podcast of all time. There’s no doubt I will be listening to the entire run for many years to come, it’s truly something special.
I sorely miss The O though, and agree with past commenters that he must be invited back into the Frogpants universe, even if only for special guest appearances. Andrew too, let’s not forget, who took off on his own – more power to him, and I hope he is well; are you still in touch?
Guess you get the picture; that lowly percentage is all well and good, but let’s face it, some of the best television series’ ever produced were canned for poor ratings
Oh, and by the way, I for one will be more than happy to get whatever boxset or series collection you come up with shipped over to the UK… Name your price sir!