Apple iTunes Store Hits 1 Billion Podcast Subscriptions

When Apple announces new iTunes Store milestones, they usually relate to apps or music. But today, the Cupertino tech giant is calling out an achievement for podcasts.

The iTunes Store has reached more than one billion podcast subscriptions, Apple announced Tuesday. To celebrate the milestone, Apple created a special section in iTunes to highlight some of the most popular podcasts of all time.

The section lists "classics" like This American Life, NPR: All Songs Considered, and 60 Minutes in addition to popular offerings like The Adam Corolla Show, TedTalks, and NBC Nightly News. There's also a list of new and noteworthy podcasts like Conversations with Maria Menounos and The Alton Browncast.

Podcasts launched on iTunes in the summer of 2005 as an alternative to radio shows, and the store now boasts roughly 250,000 different podcasts in more than 100 languages for a total of more than 8 million episodes, according to Macworld.

"From comedy to hard news to sports to innovative educational content and so much more, podcasting has transformed the global media landscape," Apple wrote in a note on its podcasts page.

The company also announced the milestone on Twitter:

Listen to the popular podcasts that helped us reach 1 billion subscriptions. @NPR @WNYC @ThatKevinSMith @nerdist http://t.co/DlJ0gUjWO0
— iTunes Podcasting (@iTunesPodcasts) July 22, 2013

The achievement comes after Apple last summer released a standalone podcast app that provides one-stop access to the podcasts currently available via iTunes.

Meanwhile, one billion podcast subscriptions is impressive, but pales in comparison to the number of app downloads and song purchases Apple has logged to date. The tech giant in February reached 25 billion songs sold and hit 50 billion app downloads in May.

iTunes 1B Podcast

About Our Expert

Angela Moscaritolo

Managing Editor, Consumer Electronics

My Experience

I'm PCMag's managing editor for consumer electronics, overseeing an experienced team of analysts covering smart home, home entertainment, wearables, fitness and health tech, and various other product categories. I have been with PCMag for more than 10 years, and in that time have written more than 6,000 articles and reviews for the site. I previously served as an analyst focused on smart home and wearable devices, and before that I was a reporter covering consumer tech news. I'm also a yoga instructor, and have been actively teaching group and private classes for nearly a decade.

Prior to joining PCMag, I was a reporter for SC Magazine, focusing on hackers and computer security. I earned a BS in journalism from West Virginia University, and started my career writing for newspapers in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

The Technology I Use

My little Florida beach bungalow is brimming with smart home tech. I have a smart speaker or display in every room, allowing me to control other connected devices by voice. The Nest Hub on my bedside table lets me set wake-up alarms, control my smart light bulbs, and set the temperature on my smart thermostat. I use the Amazon Echo Show 8 on my kitchen counter to browse recipes, reorder protein powder, check the weather, and watch the news while I do dishes.

Because I suffer from allergies, air purifiers are essential. My favorite model is the Dyson Purifier Cool TP07, which doubles as a fan and continuously sends indoor pollution data to its companion mobile app.

My pitbull Bradley sheds, so a good robot vacuum is a must. I currently use a premium Ecovacs Deebot that can both vacuum and mop, empty its own dustbin, and wash its own mop cloth.

For fitness, I like to mix up my routine with cycling, indoor rowing, running, and strength training in addition to yoga. I take classes on the Tonal 2 smart strength training machine, I row indoors on an Aviron machine, and track my beach runs with an Apple Watch while listening to music on my Apple AirPods Pro. On the weekends, I love riding e-bikes like the rugged, beach-friendly Aventon Aventure for fun and fitness.

My job involves a lot of virtual meetings, so a quality webcam, microphone, and ring light are important. I use the Jabra PanaCast 20 webcam, the Elgato Wave: 3 microphone, and a Yesker tripod ring light.

As for my preferred phone platform, I'm an iPhone person, but I've also extensively used Android for product testing.

Read the latest from Angela Moscaritolo

Read full bio