America Online is adding podcasting tools and featured content on AOL.com as online advertisers and marketers are eyeing podcasting both as a medium for sponsorship and a vehicle for branded content, writes ClickZ. The AOL Podcasting 101 site offers a guide to podcasting, access to podcasts (including AOL-generated ones), and enhanced podcasting search capabilities. AOL has also added a streaming 24-hourpodcast channel to AOL Radio.
AOL has upgraded the podcast search functions in its WinAmp media player, which now has a podcast directory. AOL has also agreed with TVEyes to integrate its Podscope search engine - which, like blinkx, indexes every word of a podcast (including videos) - with AOL Search.
AOL's first original podcast is "Sports Bloggers Live," a weekly sports talk show, which does not yet have ads in it, but may in the future. Other sources of AOL-original podcasts will be AOL Music, Moviefone, AOL Coaches and the KOL (kids) and RED (teens) services.
