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We’re thrilled that we can continue to give our users a multitude of ways to tell and engage with stories that matter. “As part of Automattic, Pocket Casts will continue to provide you with the features needed to enjoy your favorite podcasts (or find something new),” Automattic’s Head of Apps Eli Budelli said. “We will explore building deep integrations with and Pocket Casts, making it easier to distribute and listen to podcasts. Integration with may be on the horizon but it’s currently in the exploration stage. The company has also demonstrated a growing interest in podcasting-related technologies with its recent investment in Castos and partnership with Spotify’s Anchor podcast creation platform.Īcquisition announcements often include assurances of no changes for current customers but Automattic’s post made no promises and did not share many details regarding its plans for Pocket Casts. After acquiring Tumblr and Day One, Automattic is starting to gain a reputation for buying up apps that people love to use and giving them a fighting chance at financial stability and longevity. No financial details of the acquisition were disclosed but Automattic may have gotten a bargain on Pocket Casts if its other owners were also losing money. The board governing the company met in December 2020 and agreed to sell Pocket Casts. BBC Studios also held a small ownership stake in the platform prior to Automattic’s acquisition.ĭespite being widely regarded as one of the best podcasting apps available, NPR’s financial statements and auditor’s report from 2020 shows a net loss of more than $800K. In May 2018, Pocket Casts was acquired by public media organizations NPR, WNYC Studios, WBEZ Chicago, and This American Life. It started monetizing through a program called Pocket Casts Plus, which charges users a monthly subscription fee.


Ashley Carman: Pocket Casts launched in 2010 and sold to NPR and a group of other public media groups eight years later.
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Pocket Cast Plus tier, which gives users access to desktop apps, cloud storage, watch playback, and themes and icons for $9.99/year. Co-founders Russell Ivanovic and Philip Simpson will continue to lead Pocket Casts as part of Automattic. Its creators have been monetizing the app through its
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Previously a commercial-only app, Pocket Casts has been free since it switched to the freemium model in September 2019. The app allows users to keep all of their podcast subscriptions together in one place and sync between platforms. Australian co-founders Russell Ivanovic and Philip Simpson are staying on to continue leading Pocket Casts as a part of the acquisition.
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With Automattic’s investment in Castos, plus the purchase and hopeful revival of a very good podcasting app, I think podcasting can grow even faster, reaching new people and enabling them to start their own podcasts.Automattic has acquired Pocket Casts, a popular podcast listening, search, and discovery app for Android and iOS. Spotify is actively taking public shows and walling them off from apps other than their own.Īpple’s new Subscriptions is nice but I don’t think it’s a good deal for podcasters. While I’ve been critical of Automattic in the past, I can’t deny that they are more dedicate to the open web and community than some other players in the podcast space. More than 80M people in the US listen to a podcast weekly, and this critically acclaimed podcast app makes it easier for fans to discover podcasts and customize their listening experience. They have a good track record (Gravatar, BuddyPress, Simplenote, etc) and they’ve demonstrated their seriousness about being in the podcast space. We’re excited to announce that Pocket Casts will be joining Automattic, the parent company of. I have no doubt Automattic will be a good home for Pocket Casts. And podcasting has gotten significantly more popular since that purchase. NPR and the media group that purchased Pocket Casts grossly neglected it…to the point where it lost money for them. Suffice to say, Automattic is very interested in podcasting.

Last year they also quietly lauching a podcasting course of their own.

Over the last year or so, Automattic has made a few moves in the podcast space: Pocket Casts, based in Australia, was founded in 2010 and was acquired by top podcast producers NPR, WNYC Studios, WBEZ Chicago, and This American Life in May 2018. I think this is a great move for lots of reasons. The New York Times, WIRED, The Verge recongnizes and other top publications The Pocket Casts for its exquisite design and user-friendly features. Automattic hasn’t really be keeping their podcasting aspirations a secret, but this week they made perhaps their biggest most into the space: buying Pocket Casts.
