Apple boosts in-house podcasting after signing deal with Futuro Studios: report
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Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) has increased its in-house podcasting by signing a deal with Futuro Studios to fund and develop podcasts exclusively for the tech giant, with an eye towards turning them into other forms of media, Bloomberg reported.
The news outlet, citing people familiar with the matter, noted that Apple (AAPL) will fund the development and production of the podcasts and Apple would have the first chance to turn the podcasts into films or TV shows.
Cupertino, California-based Apple (AAPL) has spent up to $10M on the initiative so far and has had talks with other studios about a similar arrangement, Bloomberg added. The company already has deals with several podcasting companies to produce podcasts for its service.
The news outlet noted that the investments are led by Apple's (AAPL) TV studio and not its podcast division.
The move puts Apple (AAPL) further into competition with Spotify (NYSE:SPOT) and Amazon (NASDAQ:AMZN), which already have deals with studios to produce podcasts exclusively for their services. 
In 2020, Amazon bought Wondery for an undisclosed amount, while Spotify (SPOT) has bought a number of podcasting-related companies, including content companies like The Ringer and Gimlet Media, along with analytics and technology-focused deals. 
On Wednesday, a top analyst said Apple (AAPL) could raise the average selling price of its upcoming iPhone 14 models by "about 15%" when compared to the iPhone 13.