Another legacy media brand is making changes to how its original podcasts are distributed in a move to grow its own audio platforms. Starting in October, The New York Times will make its archives, including The Daily and The Ezra Klein Show, subscription only.
While the most recent three episodes of The Daily will remain free, older episodes will be available exclusively to subscribers via Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Subscriptions will cost $6 per month or $50 annually, mirroring the pricing of the NYT Audio app, which houses The Times’ podcasts and audio versions of its articles. Subscribers to The Times’ core news or all-access digital subscriptions will automatically have access to all audio content.
Additional perks include early access to new shows from Serial Productions, which was acquired in 2020.
Other media outlets have toyed with exclusivity and subscriptions for their podcasts. Most recently, the BBC announced it will make more on-demand podcasts and radio programs available exclusively on BBC Sounds for a limited period before releasing them to third-party platforms. While not paywalled, select podcasts and shows will debut on BBC Sounds for either seven or 28 days, with some titles released as boxsets.
This approach has already seen success, with shows like Desert Island Discs and In Our Time drawing in 218,000 new listeners and 17 million plays during a 2022 trial. BBC Sounds currently has around five million weekly users.
