Apple wants to make podcast recordings available to children
Apple makes it easy for parents to find podcasts that kids can listen to.
The company is collaborating with the nonprofit Common Sense Media, which specializes in age-specific content reviews, to organize various collections that are supposed to appear on Apple Podcasts in the US and online.
The first four topics focus on:
- Kids Know Best: Popular kids' shows that the kids can choose themselves.
- Story Time: Story shows that transport children to a world of imagination.
- One More: Mysterious tales and action-packed dramas that kids of all ages won't want to stop listening to.
- Common Sense Media's picks: always favorites that families are sure to find entertaining and informative.
The podcasts come from Tinkercast, American Public Media, WNYC Studios, Rebel Girls, and Nickelodeon, among others, and Common Sense Media makes recommendations for age groups.
Collections are updated monthly, with new topics linked to important historical and cultural moments, such as Women's History Month or the back-to-school season.
You should see these viewing suggestions starting today in the Apple Podcasts Home Library, after which they will be available through the Browse tab.
Kids' podcasts are becoming increasingly popular as the noise around the audio grows and parents search for ways to keep their kids entertained without being dependent on the screen.
The Common Sense Media Foundation previously published podcast recommendations, but this new partnership with Apple represents its largest commitment to audio software to date.
In the past year, makers of children’s podcasts have seen huge spikes in the number of listeners at the start of the pandemic.
One company, Gen-Z Media, said its Six Minutes program made about 2 million downloads per month, but during the pandemic, it was on its way to 3 million downloads.
Other companies like Spotify and Amazon put approved content for kids in separate apps and experiences.
And Apple seems to believe that this is unnecessary at the moment and that parents can instead rely on themed groups to oversee what their children enjoy.