• by Fern Siegel , January 4, 2022

NPR is strengthening its subscription podcasting on its NPR+ platform.

NPR+, which debuted in August, lets listeners pay to subscribe to their favorite NPR podcast, free of sponsor messages, for $2.99 monthly or $29.99 annually. The move is a new digital business model for NPR.

Today, NPR+ launched "The Limits with Jay Williams," hosted by the ESPN personality and former college and NBA star.

It's all part of a revenue-growth strategy, as the platform adds more shows and subscriber-only bonus benefits, such as a library of podcasts and digital content.

The company will also launch an on-demand podcast bundle in the next half of 2022, reports Axios.

As of November 2021, data company Podtrac lists NPR as No. 2 in unique monthly audiences for top podcast publishers, with 20.2 million. (The No. 1 platform is iHeartRadio at 32.6 million.)

The new model is critical to NPR’s long-term viability, another avenue to raise funding. Also, by offering podcasts to local member stations, it hopes to up membership, which adds to NPR’s coffers via affiliate fees.

NPR is an independent, nonprofit media organization. Station dues and fees, coupled with corporate sponsorships, make up nearly 70% of its budget. The most significant elements are the affiliate charges for carrying the brand’s top newsmagazines: “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered” and “Weekend Edition.”

And, like many media organizations, NPR sees podcasts as an opportunity to attract a younger, more diverse audience.