Earlier this year, Apple acquired Scout FM, a startup that creates radio-like stations for podcasts, reports Bloomberg.
An Apple spokesman confirmed the acquisition, but declined to comment further to Bloomberg. The company shut down the Scout FM app after the purchase.
Podcast apps, including Apple Podcast, work by letting users select an individual podcast to listen to. However, Scout FM created podcast stations on various topics. For example, if a person is interested in sports, the app would create a station that mixed together a curated selection of sports podcasts. Bloomberg says the app determined a person’s interests based on listening history, inputs of their preferences and suggestions form artificial-intelligence based software.
Apple is beefing up its push into original podcasts and is looking for an exec to lead the initiative by, among other things, buying shows exclusively for Apple’s Podcast app, Bloomberg reported in May. The hire would report to Ben Cave, the company’s head of podcasting.
The article said the tech giant has begun acquiring two kinds of original podcasts: audio spinoffs of existing movies and programs on its Apple TV+ streaming service and original programs that could be adapted into future Apple TV+ projects.
