The podcast universe has been growing exponentially in recent years, and today it is easy to find programs with all kinds of content. Automattic, the company that manages WordPress, has decided to take the leap into this world and acquire the rights to Pocket Casts.
How Pocket Casts works and what Automattic will do
Pocket Casts is very focused on customizing the user experience. In addition to discovering content that may interest you, it allows you to adjust the playback of the podcast at different speeds or skip very long silences in the episode. Recommendations are constant, in addition to the multiple media from which you can access this platform, such as the computer or the car.
In fact, the comments from experts and users follow the same trend: “its design is exquisite”. Getting to know new programs is very easy, and the hit rate is so high that many already consider Pocket Casts the “Spotify of podcasts”. The individualization of the different varieties is certainly something to take into account.
From now on, Automattic will be in charge of developing an increasing integration between WordPress and Pocket Casts; while still taking care of the old users. It will work on the distribution of podcasts and on improving listening and access to them, allowing users to continue as before but offering new features step by step.
Currently, the battle for this piece of content and entertainment is, among other names, led by Apple, Amazon and Spotify. Precisely the latter signed an agreement with Automattic in February that joined the paths of Anchor and WordPress. Any blogger who could not record his own podcast would have a tool in his hand to convert text to audio and make it look as human as possible.
We don’t know yet if the new move will affect this arrangement or stay the same, but we can be sure that it will be easier to create a podcast and upload it to one of the world’s most popular platforms. Anything that makes life easier for the average user is one of the main corporate missions of WordPress and Automattic.
One thing that has already been confirmed is that Russell Ivanovic and Philip Simpson, founders of the podcasting platform, will continue to lead their team once the purchase is completed. This is an important aspect, as it prevents the brand from losing the creativity it has always been proud of.
Now it remains to be seen how everything will look in the coming weeks, if there will be a change of face for Pocket Casts and when the first new features will arrive to WordPress.
