Audible Takes On Spotify By Adding Thousands Of Free Podcasts

Amazon has taken steps to grow its Audible platform into a proper podcast destination, announcing the arrival of thousands of free podcasts on the platform. Audible is still largely known as a destination for audiobook content and, more recently, dramatized audio productions. However, the company has expanded into the podcast genre with a number of original shows.

The video streaming market may be packed with original content and services as far as the eye can see, but the booming podcast market is still growing. Many companies have launched their own podcasts to get a piece of the audio pie, joining established long-running shows and newer hits in the battle for listeners' attention.

Whereas Apple used to be the biggest player in the podcast software market, many apps and services have jumped in to offer their own podcast-streaming platforms. There are the older and more established offerings like Stitcher, as well as some of the newer but quite dominant offerings like Spotify Podcasts and Google Podcasts.

Audible is one of those big companies that has launched its own podcast originals, but they alone aren't enough to make it a podcasting powerhouse. That changes with the arrival of many free and established third-party podcasts, including hits like This American Life.

As the image above shows, these podcasts can now be accessed within the Audible app. The Verge reports that Amazon will make the content accessible through its Audible Podcasts website in the near future, as well. Because these shows are free, you don't need to sign up for Audible Plus or pay for credits to access them.