One of podcasting’s most listened-to shows may soon be behind a paywall. The Daily and other podcast produced by the New York Times could soon become a subscriber benefit to the newspaper according to the Wall Street Journal. It says the Times is considering keeping just a handful of current episodes of The Daily open to all listeners. the Times is also said to be considering following in the footsteps of other subscription based media companies and give other shows – like Serial – an exclusive window for Times customers. The shows would reportedly continue to feature advertising.
Beyond just taking archive shows behind the paywall, the Journal says the plan is to eventually make podcasts a subscription service. Plans are still evolving and might change, the report says.
The reported plan to tie podcasts to subscription revenue comes as the Times has seen several consecutive quarters of lower revenue in its podcast business. CEO Meredith Kopit Levien said last month that they have continued to feel the impact of some marketers avoiding certain hard news topics.