How much data does a CliffCentral podcast use ?

Let me start off with a disclaimer/ shameless plug: I host the Talking Tech show on CliffCentral.com which airs every Monday at 10am South African time.One of the most common questions I am asked is “How much data does a CliffCentral podcast use ?”

I suppose that is a fair enough question.

CliffCentral is the UnRadio which lives on the Internet where you can hear it live or download the podcast of each show. So naturally, the ideal device to listen to CliffCentral when you are not by your computer is via the mobile device and this has a data usage implication.

Therefore, I wanted to answer the question of how much data CliffCentral consumes. Now that CliffCentral has their own app for both iOS and Android versions (yes its another plug ) I decided to answer this question.

Stream vs Podcast

To understand the cost implications we need to look at the various options available: Streaming or Download Podcast.

Streaming is like watching a YouTube clip – you hit Play and you watch/ listen to the content but you must have an active internet connection. No Internet means no content.

Downloading Podcast is where you can get your content (in this case the show) saved to your phone and hear it anytime even without an internet connection.

The two have very different cons implications.

The Monitoring Tool:

I use a data monitoring app on my Android phone called My Data Manager this not only allows me to keep tabs on my monthly data usage but also allows me to get a breakdown of each app and the amount of data each app uses. This is especially useful to make sure your data doesn’t disappear (read all about that here)

The Streaming Test:

I launched the CliffCentral app, found a random Podcast (Monday 29th June) under the Talking Tech section, and let it play for 10 minutes.

The Streaming Result:

I left the Podcast play for 10 minutes and during that time it consumed 20Mb of Data.

Therefore 1 minute of podcast data is the equivalent of 2Mb of data.

A typical podcast is around 40 min which would mean 80Mb of data.

The Streaming Cost:

I have a 2GB Data Bundle on Vodacom where I pay R249 which means I pay  R124.5 per 1000Mb of Data which equates to 12c per megabyte.

Therefore, if I would to stream the 80Mb podcast, I would pay R9.96 for 40 min worth of content.

By way of comparison: a 10 min YouTube clip is around 50Mb, 10 min of Season1 / Episode 1: The Norwood Rapist on the Criminal Minds on Showmax consumes 119Mb

The Podcast Test:

The CliffCentral app has the ability to download a podcast and save it to the device. This is ideal when travelling o a plane and is a great way to build a list of your favourite topics.

The Downloading Podcast Cost:

Downloading the Podcast is around 16MB of data for the 40 min show. This means that a podcast download is the equivalent of R1.92 (using 12c per megabyte). 

So in summary:

Ideal situation – WiFI – Free:

The most cost effective way to listen to CliffCentral is to download a series of podcasts whilst you are connected to a WiFi zone.

If you want to listen to the show live, whilst in the WiFi zone, there will be no cost (obviously you need to pay the data cost of the ADSL/ Fibre WiFi or use the free service at  coffee shops, hotels etc.)

Podcast Download – Cost: R 1.92

The next best option, if not in a WiFi zone, is to download the podcast of the show you want to listen to. At a cost of under R2 – thats simple.

Steaming – Cost: R9.96

But it you forgot to get your podcast, then for less than the price of a cappuccino, you get almost an hour of live streaming of content across every subject imaginable.

I think of it as the best MBA education at a touch of a button.