mevio

mevio

URL	mevio.com
Commercial?	Yes
Type of site	Media
Owner	PodShow Inc.
Created by	Adam Curry, Ron Bloom
Launched	October 2004

mevio, formerly known as PodShow, is a digital media entertainment network whose properties include PodShow+, PodShow Podcast Network, PodShowPDN, Podcast Alley, CastBlaster, the Podsafe Music Network and, BT PodShow. The network has acted as both an index for podcast listeners and as a tool for podcasters to publish their content, communicate with their listeners and legally access and play music within their shows, but as of July 2008 the company has decided to focus more on video distributing.

mevio.com, the main brand of PodShow Inc., is a social networking website, podcast directory, podcast delivery network, and music store.

History

PodShow (now mevio) was founded in October 2004 by Adam Curry and Ron Bloom, with the aim of helping people publish and market their podcasts, and to help listeners find podcasts that suit their interests.

In August 2005, PodShow received about $8.85m in Venture Capital from the Sand Hill Road firms Kleiner Perkins, Sequoia Capital, and Sherpalo Ventures. PodShow set up company headquarters in San Francisco, California in a temporary office South of Market Street. In February 2006, Curry announced Podshow L.A. a production division being setup by Mark Yoshimoto Nemcoff.

On August 23, 2005, PodShow announced the launch of their Podsafe Music Network. The site allows musicians or record labels to upload podsafe music into their system so that podcasters may download it for use on their podcasts, as well as the ability to sell music to listeners.

In September 2005, PodShow acquired Podcast Alley, a directory that can be used to help people find and subscribe to podcasts.

In September 2006, BT PodShow, a co-branded service for the UK and Ireland, was launched. On September 29, 2006 PodShow Inc. announced that the company had raised a second round of venture funding from new and original investors, totaling $15 million, led by DAG Ventures.

In July 2008, mevio secured $15 million in a Series C funding round led by Crosslink Capital and including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Sequoia Capital, Sherpalo Ventures and DAG Ventures. mevio intends to use the investment to continue expansion of its broadband entertainment offering and to launch new vertical entertainment networks.

In October 2008, the co-founder Ron Bloom was replaced as CEO by Jeff Karp.

Podcast shows

Mevio maintains a small stable of flagship podcasts, including No Agenda hosted by Curry and John C. Dvorak and previously Curry's own Daily Source Code (the last show being in February 2009). Other shows include The Dawn and Drew Show (from October 2005 to October 2008), Madge Weinstein's Yeast Radio (from July 2005 til April 2008), CC Chapman's Accident Hash, Podshow Radio, Reaching for Lucidity, The Frank Truth, The Scene Zine, Naive London Girl Podcast, iPhone Games Network - Unleashed, and tech vidcast GeekBrief.TV.

Criticisms and Controversy

After the release of PodShow+ on July 6, 2006 other podcasts's RSS feeds were copied and modified by PodShow, with PodShow copyrights overwriting original feeds. Instead of XML feeds linking to the original, they linked to the internal cache.^{[citation needed]} Adam Curry addressed the issue in the following Saturdays episode of the Daily Source Code in which he stated "We basically cache that, no different from what iTunes does." Curry went on to explain by saying "What should have happened was that the link underneath the orange on white XML button should be a direct link to the original, with original information, no added bits from us, original copyrights etc, Instead of linking to the external feed, it went to the internal feed. It wasn’t a bug, it was a dumb mistake, it slipped through."^{[citation needed]}

PodShow and the PodShow Network have not released broadcast metrics publicly. On March 3, 2007 Adam Curry stated "For the record, In <sic> December 2006 the network produced 52 million download requests." This has created keen interest and rampant speculation by the public, due to the PodShow's notoriety. No clarification has been provided by Adam Curry or the PodShow Network on their use or definition of a "download request". This is of noteworthy interest, as a "download" is commonly interpreted as a single download request which results in a download, while a "download request" could include all requests made for a download (including failed download requests, system-to-system requests, internal administrative requests, or automated time-scheduled RSS feed requested). Additionally, "download requests" may include not only PodShow-owned podcasts, but any "download requests" made through links listed on the PodShow Network website to many independent podcasts.

PodShow's relationship with Sirius Satellite Radio ended on May 1, 2007 without any formal acknowledgment or media release by Sirius Satellite Radio or the PodShow Network. Speculation is that Podshow, having no control over its podcasts compression consistencies, could not guarantee audio quality across the multitude of content being produced.

External links

• PodShow
• PodSafe Music Network