Apple Plans to Bankroll Original Podcasts to Fend Off Rivals
- Tech giant looks to use exclusives to compete with Spotify
- Company has recently added new Podcasts Mac app, web interface
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Apple Inc. plans to fund original podcasts that would be exclusive to its audio service, according to people familiar with the matter, increasing its investment in the industry to keep competitors Spotify and Stitcher at bay.
Executives at the company have reached out to media companies and their representatives to discuss buying exclusive rights to podcasts, according to the people, who asked not to be identified because the conversations are preliminary. Apple has yet to outline a clear strategy, but has said it plans to pursue the kind of deals it didn’t make before.