NPR, WYNC Studios, WBEZ Chicago, and This American Life recently announced their purchase of Pocket Casts. Pocket Casts is one of the leading podcast apps available alongside others such as Stitcher and Apple Podcasts. This is a large step forward, as public radio seeks to act as the leading innovator in audio distribution. Pocket Casts is currently one of the highest rated mobile apps for listening to podcasts, and will now be utilized by media groups responsible for over 170 million podcasts downloads monthly.
Owen Grover, who was the acting Executive Vice President of iHeartRadio, will serve as the CEO of Pocket Casts. The app will continue on with its current staff as a joint venture. Philip Simpson and Russell Ivanovic, the founders, will be in leadership positions, and a wealth of public media representatives will be on the board of directors.
The President and CEO of NPR, Jarl Mohn, went on to comment; “As the leading producers of podcasts in a rapidly growing market, we’re linking arms to embrace new opportunities for the distribution of audio and the engagement of a new generation of listeners. . . Pocket Casts is a terrific app and will be a great complement to NPR One, the NPR app and the other outstanding products in public radio’s portfolio of innovation. We want to continue serving and delighting its large and passionate audience through wide access to the world of powerful podcasts, from public radio and beyond.”