Podzinger adds advertising

Podzinger, the podcast and video search engine subsidiary of BBN Technologies, today launched a new ad model that could help independent (and big media) podcasters make some money. On Podzinger.com, those with accounts can opt-in to the ad program, which will bring them roughly 50% of the revenue made off of ads played before the owner’s podcast or video. Those that white label the search technology (Powered By Podzinger) can sell their own ads against the search results. White label customers also do a revenue-share deal with Podzinger. What’s cool is that the ads can be targeted by keyword, like “sports” or “baseball”. Right now, the company will be offering more general terms for sale, but as it the popularity grows, the should be able to sell ads by keyword, much like Google’s AdSense program, says Alex Laats, CEO of Podzinger. The ad is played in a mini-Flash player that accompanies each search result. One cool benefit, since the same player is used for audio and video, video ads could be displayed before an audio-only result. For those unfamiliar with Podzinger, the company’s technology used voice recognition technology (English and Spanish) to index audio and video. Search for a term and you’re brought right to the spot in the podcast or video where the term was uttered.