Preview, and They Will Come

ESPN streaming radio might just be the best thing at work since the minimize button on Internet Explorer. Since there are some crazy laws regarding which commercials can run where and on which platform, there are many commercials that don't run on internet broadcasts.

To replace these, ESPN plays some background music and the same commercial for their Podcasting service. The problem is that they only have one commercial. I hear it 10 times everyday! It's not even a bad spot, just repetitive.

Wouldn't they be better served by introducing a podcast and the host, then playing an entire minute of the podcast instead of a minute of background music? My guess is that people using streaming internet radio fall into the target for their podcast service, or at least more likely aware of the podcasts. Why not hook the ones who haven't subscribed yet? Give them a taste of the service and I guarantee they would increase subscriber numbers.