Rumor: Apple wants to offer podcast subscription

Apple would consider offering a podcast subscription, investing in podcasts that only come out within that subscription. Apple has started with many more types of subscriptions in recent years.

All podcasts within Apple’s ecosystem are still free, but that will change with a subscription, Bloomberg writes based on its own sources after an earlier article by The Information. Apple wants to invest in making or downloading podcast series that can only be heard within the subscription. A link with the subscription bundle Apple One is obvious.

With the move, Apple would like to compete with Spotify and Amazon, both of which have entered the podcast world with exclusive podcasts; Joe Rogen Experience can only be heard on Spotify, a step that involved hundreds of millions of euros.

Apple has not responded to the articles. In recent years, Apple started a subscription with video series called TV+, fitness subscription Fitness+, game service Arcade and music streaming service Music. Podcasts have been in Apple’s offering for 15 years. Many third-party podcast apps take advantage of iTunes’ indexing feature to serve podcasts.