Hope this is germane to this section.

 

This might be an unpopular opinion but - I think I would listen to a lot more of the PTB Nation podcasts if they were shorter. My tolerance for individual podcasts, unless they very deeply capture my interest, is somewhere between 60 and 75 minutes. And so I find get through a piece of a lot of the shows but don't finish them. Could I come back to them? Sure, but I listen to a bunch of podcasts and don't want wrestling podcasts to dominate my listening.

 

Again, I might be totally alone here, which is fine. Just wanted to share my thoughts, as it might be useful feedback if a lot of people share my opinion.

Personally I agree. It seems all shows are at least 3 hrs in length now. I'm as guilty as anyone. I envision a movement towards shorter shows in the future

I'm fine with long podcasts like Exile on Badstreet but I'm mystified when I see podcast reviews (like for WWE PPVs) that are either the same length or longer than the show being reviewed.

It really depends. If I'm absolutely hooked on the subject -- top 100 matches, certain broad GWE ones, I'm game no matter how long and happy to split them up over X number of days to get through it. Easy to pick up where I left off on the ipod. On the other hand, if its a random podcast without a specific, captivating focus I won't even give it a chance if it multiple hours.

I would love for someone to roll out a half-hour podcast that runs regularly. Set a timer and everything.

Honestly the fact that there is no set time limit on the shows is one of the things I like the most. This way the conversations can just flow more naturally. If there was a set time limit on lets say Between the Sheets or Titans then the guys could only spent so much time on each item before they would have to cut the discussion short. Yes it can get a little excessive at time, but I really like it. Then again I am person that just loves absorbing new knowledge, so things like that are just in my wheelhouse.

We have been trying to keep the Lucha Undead podcast under 45 mins but it's tough especially on interviews because I love to let people talk

I used to feel the same way... and I still do with my shows... work hard to keep the Place to Be Podcast right under two hours generally and Dangerous Alliance right around two hours as well (with a timer!)... but then I listen to shows like Exile, WTBBP and Sheets and I don't want them to end. Even if it takes me a week to listen to the whole thing, there is so much to learn it is worth the investment IMO.

 

I still think 90-120 minutes is the sweet spot but longer shows aren't auto deletes for me or anything... really depends on the show and/or hosts.

I agree that podcasting and Internet broadcasting in general shouldn't be stuck in timeslots like TV and radio. That said, I have great admiration for the Squared Circle Gazette Radio guys because their podcasts are so efficient, to an almost ruthless degree. They're not necessarily short but there is absolutely no downtime or bullshit. Of course to some people and in some situations bullshit is a feature and not a bug.

Time limits completely cuts out free flowing discussion........believe me there are times I would like shorter shows but our longer shows seem to be our best shows.

The long shows can be daunting for newcomers but if it's a good show, I don't care how long it is.

I think one thing to keep in mind with podcast length is that most people can only download a podcast of about 90 minutes over data plans. Anything longer would require wifi. For people like me who have unlimited data it's not a big deal but a lot of folks may choose to skip a long podcast until they have a wifi connection, which keeps them from listening in the car or at work.

If Kris, or Scott and Justin are running the show then I could care less how long the show is. The more the better when it comes to those guys. Bix and Brian fit that mold as well along with Will and Charles although they don't record as often.

I like long shows. One of the advantages of the form is that there's no time constraints. Does it mean that I have a huge backlog of podcasts I want to listen to? Yes, but I'd rather have too much entertainment than too little. Quite frankly, even if all podcasts were thirty minutes, there'd still be too much good stuff to fit into my day. The nice thing about the PTBN podcasts is that most of them focus on older wrestling, so there's no real rush to listen to a show immediately.

 

That said, I think timestamps are great for shows that cover a lot of topics. Allowing people to easily skip parts of a show they may not be interested in is a big help.

I also really like long podcasts, but they're sometimes hard to fit into my day. A length of about 90-120 minutes is ideal, that way I can listen to it on the way to work and back again. If it's longer, I'll just listen to the rest at home.

Id rather have a long podcast which covers everything that needs to be said than a short podcast which barely scratches the surface. If the time is used effectively then it shouldnt be an issue.

The only PTBN podcasts I listen to are Between the Sheets and Exile on Badstreet (and the occasional PPV review), but how on earth could those two be limited to 60-75 minutes? Even when they've gone over four hours there are times when I've wished Kris and Bix would've elaborated more on something. So much would be omitted if these were restricted in length. I fully agree with what Karl above has said, in that I'd rather have a long podcast that covers everything than a short one which just scratches the surface.

I originally wanted the Super Show to be a weekly hour show... it didn't work.

I would love for someone to roll out a half-hour podcast that runs regularly. Set a timer and everything.

 

Would you want something like Pardon the Interruption on ESPN? Like the topics limited down to so many minutes as well?

 

I would love for someone to roll out a half-hour podcast that runs regularly. Set a timer and everything.

 

Would you want something like Pardon the Interruption on ESPN? Like the topics limited down to so many minutes as well?

 

Well, if you'd like to look at it that way, The Dangerous Alliance is 3 1/2 times that. 3x half an hour and the mailbag.

Yeah if your show is of a historical nature like Between the Sheets or Exile then making it only an hour or so is stifling the information. The longer the better I say. But if you are doing a weekly show on current topics, there is no reason to go more than an hour unless there is something huge going on like a Wrestlemania. While I like listening to them, it is baffling that Talking Sheet is always over 2 hours and can easily be cut to 90 minutes.

I get both sides of the discussion - but I'm curious for the people saying that the shows HAVE to be that long to properly cover the topic - why are wrestling podcasts unique in terms of needing to be long? Even really good conversations on something like the Bill Simmons Podcast tend to work best for me at 60-75 minutes, and I don't feel like anything is being underserved. Same is true of the Channel 33 podcasts (although many of them cover current issues, which is a bit different). Serial, Undisclosed, Celebration Rock... they always work at that length. Maybe it's just that those podcasts are being constrained and I'd like them just as much at an hour more, but I'm not convinced of that.

As long as the show is good, length of the podcast means nothing to me. Give me 4 hours of greatness over 1 hour of pretty good. The PTBN pods routinely deliver great shows, so the long shows don't bother me.

I get both sides of the discussion - but I'm curious for the people saying that the shows HAVE to be that long to properly cover the topic - why are wrestling podcasts unique in terms of needing to be long? Even really good conversations on something like the Bill Simmons Podcast tend to work best for me at 60-75 minutes, and I don't feel like anything is being underserved. Same is true of the Channel 33 podcasts (although many of them cover current issues, which is a bit different). Serial, Undisclosed, Celebration Rock... they always work at that length. Maybe it's just that those podcasts are being constrained and I'd like them just as much at an hour more, but I'm not convinced of that.

 

This comes down to pre & post production in most cases. The reason a lot of those other shows are able to keep the length down is the do a good amount of work before recording to prep for their topics and then they tend to edit down long form conversations into bite size pieces so they come across more exciting. A lot of this passion project podcasts just don't have the time or resources to do the same thus what you end up with is a much longer, raw product.

That is very true. I remember when I first started podcasting being concerned about editing out tangents and bits that didn't pertain to the main topic, but soon gave up because it was time consuming and nobody seemed to care either way