Apple is no stranger to podcasts, but is now using them to help increase its TV + audience. Variety reports that Apple introduced The line, your first combination of a podcast with an original program. Jeffery Zimbalist’s video documentary about former Navy SEAL Eddie Gallagher (shown here) doesn’t debut until fall, but you can already hear a six-part audio series on Apple podcasts that includes interviews with Gallagher and his wife, “exclusive reporting” and other insights into the soldier’s alleged criminal activity.
Gallagher was charged in 2018 with war crimes after posing for a photo with a corpse in Iraq. Platoon members even accused him of murder. A court acquitted all but one of the charges and received then President Trump’s pardon for the last charge in 2019. Both the podcast and the video series aim to explore not only Gallagher’s crimes, but also the “complicated realities” of the war , the effect it has on soldiers and the secret nature of SEAL units.
The line comes at a time when Apple is planning to further use its Podcasts app as a competitive advantage, whether through a possible paid service or by purchasing exclusive programs. It’s not hard to see why the company would explore original and podcast combinations – they could spur adoption of the Podcasts app and draw attention to Apple TV + productions well before their debuts. It can also help Apple contain Spotify’s changes in podcasts and give people a reason to stick with the software included with their iPhones and Macs.