SoylentNews

takyon [soylentnews.org] writes:

Pocket Casts acquired by NPR, other public radio stations, and This American Life [theverge.com]

Pocket Casts, widely considered to be one of the best mobile apps for podcast listening, has been acquired [npr.org] by a collective group that includes NPR, WNYC Studios, WBEZ Chicago, and This American Life [thisamericanlife.org]. "This unprecedented collaboration furthers public radio's leading role as an innovator in audio discovery and distribution, while ensuring the continued support and growth of one of the most popular listening platforms on the market," the companies said in a press release announcing the news. That team of stations and podcast producers are responsible for some of the format's biggest hits like This American Life (duh), Serial, Radiolab, and Planet Money.

Moving forward, Pocket Casts will operate as a joint venture between the new owners. Philip Simpson and Russell Ivanovic, who formed Shifty Jelly (Pocket Cast's developer) in 2008, will have unspecified "leadership roles." The existing staff and development team is staying put. Owen Grover, a veteran of iHeartRadio / Clear Channel, has been named as Pocket Cast's CEO. NPR's apps including NPR One will remain in development.

Also at TechCrunch [techcrunch.com].

Original Submission