Tag: Apple Podcasts

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Apple funding podcasts to potentially adapt into TV+ shows: report

Apple is reportedly investing further into podcasts to create content that can potentially be adapted into series for its Apple TV+ service.

According to Bloomberg, Apple’s recent production deal with the Pulitzer Prize-winning podcast company Futuro Studios includes a stipulation that the tech giant is afforded the first crack at adapting any resulting podcasts.

So far, Apple has already produced two series based on podcasts: one based on Wondery’s WeCrashed: The Rise and Fall of WeWork (starring Jared Leto and Anne Hathaway), and the other on Joe Nocera’s The Shrink Next Door (starring Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd).

It’s unclear how well WeCrashed and The Shrink Next Door performed, given that Apple reveals little data about TV+. That said, other streaming services have adapted podcasts into acclaimed series, such as Amazon (Homecoming with Julia Roberts and Janelle Monáe) and Hulu (The Dropout starring Amanda Seyfried.)

For now, it seems like Apple is taking a measured approach to its podcast plans. Bloomberg reports that Apple has spent up to $10 million USD (about $12.7 million CAD) on deals with podcast companies like Futuro, which is a far cry from the hundreds of millions spent by the likes of Spotify.

It’s worth noting that Apple could also opt to leverage Futuro podcasts as a way to complement existing shows, as it has done for The Problem with Jon Stewart and For All Mankind. However, the company did not respond to Bloomberg‘s report when the outlet reached out for comment.

Image credit: Apple

Source: Bloomberg

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Mobile Syrup

Apple Podcasts now offer better audience analytics to creators

Apple Podcasts are getting a much-needed update in April that will allow creators to gauge their audience and monetize their content.

The update will basically provide creators with follower metrics that will allow them to check how many followers are listening to their shows, along with metrics to gauge new followers gained in the past week, month, two months and all-time via a private analytics dashboard. Additionally, the dashboard will also let creators check the time listened, categorized under following and non-following listeners.

Until now, follower counts were not visible to Apple Podcast creators. Apple’s aim with the update is to allow creators to see what kind of a following they have, and accordingly, consider launching a subscription to give users an ad-free experience and exclusive subscriber-only content.

The Cupertino, California-based company is also letting creators customize their subscription banners by adding messages to promote their channels and shows. Learn more about the banners and how they can be customized here.

“Starting today, all creators enrolled in the Apple Podcasters Program can now request direct guidance from the Apple Podcasts team to help jump-start their subscriptions,” reads Apple’s blog post about the update. The Apple Podcasts team can help new creators create a channel, set up their show for a subscription, learn about subscription best practices, understand subscription reports, and more, according to Apple.

Lastly, Apple Podcasts now supports MP3 files for subscriber audio, in addition to WAV and FLAC files, making it easier for creators to create and share their podcasts.

Image credit: Apple

Source: Apple

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Mobile Syrup

Apple boosted Podcasts App Store score by prompting users to review it

Apple’s revamped Podcasts app arrived to significant criticism from users. For a while, it sat on the App Store with a low score — a measly 1.8 stars out of five. At least, that’s what it was about a month ago before Podcasts began its ascension to a more impressive 4.6 stars (and it’s still climbing). However, Apple didn’t change things around by fixing Podcasts — instead, it simply added a prompt to review the app.

App Store watchdog Kosta Eleftheriou first spotted the change, citing data from ‘AppFigures‘ that shows a sudden surge in positive reviews starting in early November. Additionally, the majority of the new reviews include a five-star score.

So, is Apple manipulating the reviews for its own app? Well, no, not exactly. Both Eleftheriou and The Verge point out that many of the reviews appear to be about specific podcasts, not about the Podcasts app itself. The Verge digs into the reviews a little more, noting that other podcasting apps don’t have reviews for specific podcasts — or at least, not to the same extent as Apple Podcasts.

Apple did confirm to The Verge that it added a prompt to review Podcasts in iOS 15.1, but the company says it used the standard ‘Rating & Review’ prompt that’s “available to all developers.” Apple does offer review prompts as a standard feature of the App Store (and it’s one users can turn off by heading to Settings > App Store > In-App Ratings & Reviews).

Whether Apple used the standard review prompt isn’t really the issue here, however. As The Verge points out, the Podcasts app reviews highlight a larger problem with the star system: it’s hard to tell if a five-star score is legitimate. Plenty of App Store apps game the star score system by buying high ratings or even more scummy practices like blocking an app from launching until users submit a high-score review.

Now, it’s highly unlikely that Apple’s doing anything like that with the Podcasts app, but that doesn’t rule out other things. The Verge pointed out that Apple could use an algorithm to target dedicated users with review prompts or issue a prompt in a way that misleads users into thinking they’re reviewing the podcast. We don’t know what’s going on with the Podcasts prompt — The Verge was unable to get a copy of Podcasts’ review prompt and despite my best efforts, I haven’t gotten one either.

Whatever the underlying reason, it’s worth keeping in mind that Apple managed to boost its Podcasts app to the top of the App Store charts by using review prompts to gather tons of high-score reviews without changing any of the many underlying issues that got the app its original low score.

Source: Kosta Eleftheriou (Twitter), The Verge

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Mobile Syrup

SiriusXM launches premium Marvel channel on Apple Podcasts

SiriusXM has partnered with Marvel to launch an exclusive premium channel on Apple Podcasts.

Dubbed Marvel Podcasts Unlimited, the channel will offer subscribers early and exclusive access to a variety of original scripted and unscripted podcasts.

Some of these podcasts include:

  • Marvel’s Wolverine: The Long Night (scripted)
  • Marvel’s Wolverine: The Lost Trail (scripted)
  • Marvel/Method (unscripted, hosted by Method Man
  • This Week in Marvel (unscripted)
  • Marvel’s Wastelanders: Hawkeye (scripted, premiering October 3rd)
  • Marvel’s Wastelanders: Black Widow (scripted, release TBA)
  • Marvel’s Wastelanders: Wolverine (scripted, release TBA)
  • Marvel’s Wastelanders: Doom (scripted, release TBA)

Marvel Podcasts Unlimited costs $4.99 CAD/month. A free seven-day trial is available.

This launch expands on Marvel and SiriusXM’s multi-year agreement that was signed in 2019 to create new original podcast series.

Image credit: Marvel Entertainment (art by Halifax’s own Steve McNiven)

Source: SiriusXM