Sky News is introducing a paid podcast subscription that offers ad-free listening, bonus episodes and early access to new content.
Sky News Insider: Podcasts launches on 15 June at £2.99 monthly. It’s the first time Sky News has launched a paid-for news product.
The new subscription is designed to build on the growth of Sky News podcasts, which have seen listening figures rise by 102% year on year across Apple Podcasts, YouTube and Spotify.
Subscribers will get bonus episodes from podcasts including Electoral Dysfunction and Trump 100, along with ad-free listening on participating shows.
They will also receive early access to episodes and series before they are released publicly, plus a weekly newsletter featuring insights from presenters and correspondents including Beth Rigby, Harriet Harman, Ruth Davidson, Martha Kelner, James Matthews and Mark Stone.
Other benefits include priority access to tickets for live events and a community forum where listeners can interact directly with podcast hosts.
The subscription will also include bonus episodes and early access to Stuff Matters, a new six-part series presented by Sky News Economics and Data Editor Ed Conway. The podcast explores the global economic stories behind everyday objects.
The company says podcast followers increased by more than 70% between April last year and April this year.
David Rhodes, Executive Chairman of Sky News, said: “Around our most popular and trusted voices we see pent-up demand: people who want a bonus episode, the chance to interact with us and with each other, to attend an event, even to buy merch.”
Sky News’ Political Editor, Beth Rigby said the new subscription would offer listeners “more content and more conversation” at a time of major political change.
