Paid Apple Podcast subscriptions grow by 300% in a year

More people are taking up paid Apple Podcast subscriptions than ever before, with subscribers to podcasts seeing 300% growth over the course of a year.

Apple Podcast Subscriptions provide a way for listeners to enjoy select podcasts while enjoying benefits like ad-free listening. In coverage of NBC's "Dateline" podcasts move, it seems that end users are taking up the opportunity for an improved listening experience.

An Apple spokesperson informed Digiday on Monday that the number of subscribers had gone up by more than 300% since June 2021. Though Apple didn't say how many paid subscribers it had nor how many podcasts offer paid subscriptions, it did point out that over a quarter of the top 100 shows in the "Top Shows" chart provide a subscription option.

The new "Dateline Premium," launched on Monday, costs users $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year, and provides a selection of true crime podcasts to subscribers. The perks of the subscription include bonus episodes, early access to Dateline's tenth podcast, "Internal Affairs," as well as early access to other shows and ad-free listening.

Apple takes its usual 30% commission for new subscriptions, but to encourage long-term listening, its cut reduces to 15% after one year, giving the podcaster more of the revenue.

While NBC and other podcasters may benefit from getting additional revenue that may be more than they would normally receive from advertising alone, audience development and marketing firm Twenty-First Digital CEO Melissa Chowning offers that it is still challenging "as a broader audience development strategy."

According to Chowning, since the listener subscribes through Apple instead of NBC directly, data generated by the relationship is owned by Apple alone. "I'm not getting an email address, any first-party data or the ability to interact with that subscriber on my terms," Chowning asserts.

The subscription could be a massive revenue boon for NBC, given its existing reach.

In July alone, audio versions of Dateline's TV broadcasts enjoyed over 30 million downloads, with Dateline NBC occupying sixth place on Podtrac's ratings of the top 10 podcasts in July. On Apple's own podcast charts, Dateline is in eighth place, third under the true crime category.

It seems evident that NBC stands to amass a considerable subscriber following, and in turn, massive revenues from its podcasting content.

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7 Comments

entropys 13 Years · 4316 comments

About 2 years ago

In the absence of actual numbers, high percentage increases smell like some lame marketing department attempt at manipulation.

I think the paid subscription model might end up doing apple more harm than good. Just about anything I might listen to, for example is also on Overcast.
And I won’t pay for NBC either.

cgWerks 8 Years · 2947 comments

entropys said:

In the absence of actual numbers, high percentage increases smell like some lame marketing department attempt at manipulation.

I think the paid subscription model might end up doing apple more harm than good. Just about anything I might listen to, for example is also on Overcast.
And I won’t pay for NBC either.

No doubt. They had 25, now 75 type stuff?

I guess there is a place for this kind of service, I just wish it wouldn't get confused with podcasting. The podcast community needs to resist this exclusive, pay-walled stuff with all their might (Spotify is another example).

And, you've totally nailed the problem. Since they aren't available via normal RSS feeds anymore, they aren't technically podcasts and you're limited to the particular app of that service. You can't use, as you pointed out, an app like Overcast anymore. Instead of being with the rest of your podcasts, it is an audio show on Apple (or an audio show on Spotify, etc.).

The good thing to come out of this, though, is that Adam Curry and Dave Jones launched Podcasting 2.0 initiative in response to these moves by Apple and Spotify. Tons of apps are being developed with insanely great new features to take podcasting to the next level. Apple, Spotify (and sadly, even Overcast) are being left behind. In a year or so, these players are going to have to get on board, or they'll be obsolete.

I've already moved 5 podcasts from Overcast to Castamatic so I can get the new features like live chapters and contribute value4value to the shows. I think Marco is looking at adding Chapters, but he seems (sadly) ideologically opposed to value4value, because crypto is used to transfer value from listener to podcaster directly in real-time (and Marco has been convinced crypto is going to destroy the earth or something).

genovelle 16 Years · 1481 comments

Apple doesn’t share numbers as numbers draw competitors. Oh look, they have a bunch customers let’s all go copy what they are doing and get some. It’s better for others to think there’s only 75 subscribers.

crowley 15 Years · 10431 comments

Advertising in podcasts is probably the most tolerable and non-invasive type of advertising around. And the podcasts I listen to occasionally even advertise something I have an interest in. What I don't have any interest in is paying for something when I can get it for free with only the smallest of downsides.

Also, I was once listening to a podcast about the Lewinsky scandal, and immediately after a racy description of an oral encounter between the President and the intern the podcast was interrupted for an ad from Gobble, the mealkit service. I enjoyed the podcast a lot, but that was the absolute highlight.

StrangeDays 8 Years · 12986 comments

entropys said:

In the absence of actual numbers, high percentage increases smell like some lame marketing department attempt at manipulation.

I think the paid subscription model might end up doing apple more harm than good. Just about anything I might listen to, for example is also on Overcast.

If the way math works is a lame conspiracy, then sure.

Do you also think Spotify’s paid subscription model is doing more harm than good? To whom?