National Public Radio first began offering its content via API nearly two years ago now and business, to say the least, has been booming.
According to a blog post today by NPR Director of Application Development Daniel Jacobson, the API delivered more than 1.1 billion stories last month, and almost 5 billion since tracking began six months ago.
First, Jacobson shows the number of API requests made over the past six months, which he explains does not translate directly to the number of stories delivered.
According to Jacobson, “The big jump in total API requests from July to August are due to the launch of many new products in July. Among them are the new NPR.org, the NPR.org Flash Player, the NPR News iPhone app, WBUR’s new web site, and Minnesota Public Radio’s new site.”
Next, we see the number of stories delivered, which turns out to be an equally impressive chart.
NPR’s API allows outside parties to have access to audio content dating back to 1995, consisting of more than 250,000 stories in more than 5,000 different aggregations. The results are returned in a number of formats, from RSS, MediaRSS, JSON and Atom to NPRML, a specialized format that accounts for 86% of content distribution. Jacobson notes, however, that an overwhelming majority of content delivered by NPR’s API is being sent to affiliated sites and stations.
While some media companies, such as News Corp, attempt to block their content from distribution, the NPR API seems to be making access to its content widespread. Jacobson includes a slideshow at the end of his post that shows just how many places and ways NPR content is being accessed as a result of its API.
To use NPR content via API, all you need to do is register with NPR and agree to its terms. The company says that “we want you to use, enjoy and share the journalism and programming produced by NPR and participating NPR member stations, but it is also important to respect the rights and integrity of the work and of the dedicated people who created it.”
