In a temporary measure that could be an indication that a major change to how Podcasts function may soon arrive, Apple has stopped accepting new podcast episodes to iTunes Connect.
Malcolm Owen for AppleInsider:
Rumors suggest Apple is planning to announce a premium podcast subscription as part of its “Spring Loaded” special event. While there hasn’t been any concrete evidence so far, some downtime the day before Tuesday’s events may be a sign of some behind-the-scenes work at play.
AppleInsider has discovered a new error message in the My Podcasts section of iTunes Connect… stating: “The ability to submit new shows for review is temporarily unavailable.” There was no indication of when Apple would start accepting new shows for review again.
If Apple is to launch a new paid podcast offering on Tuesday, it is unclear exactly what form it will take, but it will likely follow the same sort of pattern as other subscriptions, such as Apple News+ and Apple TV+.
MacDailyNews Take: An Apple Podcasts+ subscription service is a logical move for Apple. Late last year, the company hired Emily Ochsenschlager, who previously served National Geographic’s director of podcasts, as the company started funding Apple Original podcasts. We’d imagine that Apple Podcasts+ would be commercial-free and also available via at least one of the Apple One bundles.
the idea of premium podcasts services is bad for podcasts, great for Apple though.
shrug They already have every free podcast under the sun. Apple will be producing the podcasts, hence no interstitial ads or sponsors, etc. It’s a radio station, relax.
They say 25% of Americans listen to podcasts at least once per week. I’m not buying it. I know nobody that actively listens to them. Maybe it’s all those young adults sitting at home collecting a check from Pelosi and crew?
Roughly half of America didn’t know anybody who voted for Donald Trump in 2016. The other half didn’t know anybody who voted against him in 2020. Our personal experience may, or may not, reflect the totality of reality.
Oh no, those ex MS Vista workers have another change to make. A lot of the old simple functions are now extra steps & it’s just getting worse. Here’s one in case you’re unsure. Try adding someone from a text to contacts. This is the extra steps that are from Windows.