But podcast creators all give off frequent signals that they wish podcasting were centralized. Specifically, I'm thinking of how they all ask you to leave a ra

But podcast creators all give off frequent signals that they wish podcasting were centralized. Specifically, I'm thinking of how they all ask you to leave a rating on some centralized podcast aggregation service, usually iTunes. Many also specifically ask that you subscribe through iTunes. That's because rankings and ratings on iTunes are as essential to their monetization strategy as Nielsen ratings were to over-the-air TV.