Apple is reportedly funding podcasts it could turn into films or TV shows

Source: Apple

Apple has supposedly signed a deal with podcast producer Futuro Studios to help fund future podcast development and productions. As part of the deal, Apple gets the first refusal on the rights to turn these podcasts into a film or TV show. The tech giant has already produced TV shows based on podcasts WeCrashed and The Shrink Next Door.

The company's TV division leads the podcasting deals it enters. Meanwhile, its actual podcasting unit has reportedly avoided investing in specific titles to appear as a "neutral platform." Apple and Futuro have declined to comment on Bloomberg's report. But it looks like Apple is using the technology to benefit its other businesses more than directly expanding or growing the shows. Aside from using it for adaptations, Apple has done companion podcasts for content like The Problem with Jon Stewart and For All Mankind as promotional tie-ins.

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YouTube reportedly wants to pay podcasters to film their shows

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YouTube wants to dive deeper into the podcasting space, at least according to rumours. The company is reportedly offering podcasters money to create video versions of their shows. Bloomberg reports that it offers podcasters everything from US$50,000 for individual shows to US$300,000 for podcast networks, which they can potentially use to film episodes or other video-based content.

As The Verge pointed out, YouTube has been working on improving audio features on the platform. In October, it let Canadian users listen to audio without having the app open, a feature previously only available to YouTube Premium subscribers. 

Spotify invests in podcast advertising with Chartable, Podsights acquisitions

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Spotify has just announced it bought two major podcast ad tech companies, Chartable and Podsights, to offer more features to its podcast advertisers and podcasters. Podsights will help its advertisers view more detailed information on who clicked on an ad and what actions they took (like buying the product).

As for Chartable, Spotify will offer the company's two promotional tools (SmartLinks and SmartPromos) to its podcasters. SmartLinks offers "shareable, trackable URLs that automatically route listeners to their podcasts." It'll provide data on both podcast clicks and downloads. While SmartPromos lets podcasters see which ads result in the most downloads, allowing them to measure the success of ad campaigns.

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Spotify to label podcasts discussing COVID-19

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Spotify is finally responding to criticism of how it handles the controversial COVID-19 content in the Joe Rogan Experience. The company said it would add COVID-19 content advisories to podcasts, and that advisory will lead to Spotify's COVID-19 hub, hosting credible and up-to-date information about the pandemic.

Spotify has also made public its COVID-19 content policy to improve transparency around the issue's treatment. The Verge got a copy of the policy ahead of the platform's release and wrote about how an internal memo showed that Joe Rogan's podcast didn't "meet the threshold for removal."

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