NBC’s “Dateline” has made a successful move into true crime podcasting, ranking No. 6 on Podtrac’s ranker of most listened-to shows in July. Today NBC is making a move to monetize that fan base with the launch of a subscription channel. Dateline Premium will include first access to new episodes, monthly bonus content, and ad-free access to more than 400 hours of exclusive audio content since NBC show launched the podcast in 2019.
The launch of Dateline Premium comes ahead of the Dateline podcast’s new tenth season titled “Internal Affairs.” The six-episode story about a how a romantic affair in a Colorado police department turned deadly. Subscribers will have access to the Josh Mankiewicz-hosted episodes beginning September 13. The show will then be widely available on all apps one week later.
Mankiewicz told Digiday that each of the Internal Affairs episodes are about as long as the one-hour “Dateline” TV shows. “That’s one of the great things about podcasts. You can give all the details,” he said.
NBC is charging $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year. It will be available in 170 countries and regions where Apple Podcast Subscriptions are offered. Apple takes a 30% commission on podcast subscription revenue in a channel’s first year, before dropping to 15% in year two.
Senior Executive Producer David Corvo told Digiday that despite NBC’s commitment to making a podcast for the TV series, no additional staff has been brought on board. Instead, it relies on the team that produces the television show. “If someone has a little downtime on an original story they’re producing for television, we have them help out with the podcast,” he said.