The New York Times – which last year substantially expanded its audio operations by acquiring the Audm app (using actors to turn longform text into audio) and the bestselling podcaster Serial Productions – is planning to combine them with The Daily (4m downloads daily) and The Ezra Klein Show in an app.
In the way of these things, it’s already being described as a move towards the “Netflix of podcasts”, but calm down. The NYT move is a test, will initially not involve any price and most of the audio output will still be available on other platforms. Harvard’s NiemanLab says: “To start, the new app will act as a kind of homepage for the Times’ catalog of audio journalism. A rotating selection, curated by Times editors, will guide listeners through a mix of formats and topics — from newsy pieces and short updates to feature stories and longer, “more suspenseful” narratives.”
On one level, it sounds like a sensible way to create a focus for audio services which – for the New York Times and many other media brands – are easily “lost” on the website. Anything about being the HBO or Netflix of podcasts is a stretch and might ultimately depend on some real consumer tech innovation. But making audio a “destination” is something other media brands seem likely to imitate.
