In its most sweeping change since being acquired by a public media consortium last year, podcast app Pocket Casts is making its Android and iOS apps free. Most features, including dark theming, cross-platform syncing, silence removal, and variable-speed playback will be available to all users. Other facets, including the desktop apps, will be available for a monthly or annual fee.
The iOS app was most recently priced at $5.99 while the Android app was marked at $3.99. Starting today, new users will pay nothing to download the app. In exchange for zeroing out the upfront cost, the company is introducing Pocket Casts Plus, a subscription service costing either 99 cents a month or $10 a year.
Plus will give users access to the macOS, Windows, and web apps, cloud storage hosting, and exclusive icons and themes. Those who spent $9 for the desktop apps will get 3 months years (!) of Plus for free.
Pocket Casts is framing this change in revenue model as a reflection on how its co-owners — NPR, WBEZ Chicago, WNYC Studios, and This American Life — operate: providing a free service with access to certain perks through a periodic subscription.
NPR, in particular, has seen explosive growth in its podcast ad revenue. Current, a public media trade magazine, reports that the broadcaster is expecting to make nearly $62 million in 2020 from its podcast and digital properties, up 15% from what it expects to make this year.
The changes — which also includes the ability to play local audio and video files within the app — will arrive in a forthcoming update.
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