apple: Apple launches Podcasts subscription feature – Times of India

Tech giant Apple has debuted its Podcasts Subscriptions feature with its app. Apple Podcasts comes with two new modes now apart from Free: Freemium and Paid. The Freemium tier will let you listen for free and subscribe for additional benefits whereas with the Paid tier, you have to pay first to subscribe to the podcast and only then you can listen. The feature was earlier announced as launching in May but its date was pushed to June 15. The feature has been rolled out to over 170 countries and regions.
Most of the podcasts come enabled with trial versions that help you make a better choice as they give you a few days to experience the content and then make up your mind. Some of the premium facilities include ad-free content, bonus content, early access to episodes etc. Now, you can also rummage through the archives to get more control over the app. The podcast subscriptions “can be offered as monthly or annual plans.”
Along with the paid podcasts, the Podcasts Channels has also been added. Channels let you group the podcasts together into custom pages.Podcasts creators will receive “70% of the subscription price at each billing cycle, minus applicable taxes.” Apple adds further that “after a subscriber accumulates one year of paid service, your net revenue increases to 85% of the subscription price, minus applicable taxes. Your other podcast revenue — including any ads — will stay 100% yours.”
Any episode of the podcasts can be downloaded and listened to offline. The app lists all the downloaded episodes under the Downloaded section in your library.