From Free To Fee: Ricky Gervais Opts For Audible Podcast Exclusive

Updated:The Ricky Gervais Show was an instant hit when it launched as a free 12-episode podcast offered by The Guardian; with 2.9 million downloads since the early December premiere, it’s even been listed by the Guiness Book of World Records as the most downloaded podcast. Now Gervais and company are about to learn whether people will pay to download new episodes via Audible, which has a deal for exclusive distribution of seasons two (premiering this month) and three (scheduled for fall). It’s also a test of sorts for Audible’s proprietary format, which it touts as better than MP3; it’s proven technically but it will be interesting to see how Gervais fans respond.
Pricing: AudibleListener subs will get the shows gratis. For others, $6.95 will cover at least the first four episodes and a sneak preview; single episodes will be $1.95. In addition to Audible and Audible UK, the show also should be for sale through iTunes, which is an Audible distribution partner, and the podcasts will be available for smart mobile devices via AudibleAir.
Gervais appears pretty hyped about the deal; his own site started linking to the Audible page even before the official announcement. It’s hard to believe the numbers will be anywhere close to the Guardian downloads but they don’t have to be in order to achieve financial success for the producer, talent and distributor. Of course, there might not have even been new episodes without charging. As Chortle notes, Gervais said when the show was acknowleged by Guiness that co-writer Stephen Merchant and producer Karl Pilkington wanted to charge from the get-go. Then again, when the deal with the Guardian was announced, free was part of his rationale: “I want to do a radio show where I can say what I want, when I want, for as long as I want and that’s free for anybody who can be bothered to listen anywhere in the world.”

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