True crime is among the most popular podcast content categories — and now NBC’s “Dateline,” one of the genre’s OGs, is looking to cash in.
On Monday, NBC is launching Dateline Premium, a new subscription on Apple Podcasts offering ad-free access to more than 400 hours of exclusive audio programming. The subscription costs $2.99 per month or $29.99 per year, after a seven-day free trial.
Dateline Premium subscribers also will receive bonus monthly episodes, with the first one dropping on Sept. 1. In addition, subscribers will be able listen to new “Dateline” podcasts before anyone else, including the upcoming “Internal Affairs” six-episode series following “Dateline” correspondent Josh Mankiewicz’s reporting into a deadly romantic affair in a police department in northern Colorado. The series will be available to Dateline Premium subs starting Sept. 13, before it is made generally available Sept. 20.
Dateline Premium is available in 170 countries and regions on the Dateline NBC channel and show pages on Apple Podcasts on iPhone, iPad and Mac. The podcast subscription makes its debut ahead of the network’s Season 31 premiere of “Dateline” on Friday, Sept. 16, at 9 p.m. ET.
The Dateline NBC channel on Apple Podcasts includes several chart-topping podcasts, including “Dateline: Missing in America,” “The Seduction,” “The Thing About Helen & Olga,” “Killer Role,” “Mommy Doomsday,” “Motive for Murder,” “The Thing About Pam” and “13 Alibis.”
The tech giant launched Apple Podcasts Subscriptions in June 2021. Earlier this month, Apple Podcasts launched two new charts — Top Subscriber Shows and Top Subscriber Channels — ranking the top 100 shows and channels offered to premium customers. The charts are available in the U.S., U.K., Canada and Australia.
