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IN CONTEXT: MEDIA
Can the CBC attract advertisers to its podcasts? BY CHRIS POWELL
As the undisputed champion of the podcast format, Britain's Ricky Gervais-whose podcast, "The Ricky Gervais Show, has garnered more than eight million downloads-has taken to calling himself "The Podfather."
While the CBC isn't counting on listeners leaving Gervais' popular show, the Mother Corp. is pushing hard on the podcast front.
The public broadcaster embarked on a major expansion of its offerings in May, introducing podcasts of many of CBC Radio's most popular shows, including Quirks & Quarks, Definitely Not the Opera, and As it Happens, along with 10 regional podcasts.
The Corp. says its 22 podcasts were downloaded more than five million times between May and October (they are currently averaging about 140,000 downloads a week), while three of the podcasts-The Best of Ideas, The...