Batman And Kim Kardashian Headed to Spotify Podcasts

Spotify has signed a podcast contract with DC Comics — home to Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman — bringing filmed superhero stories to the audio streaming platform.

The deal announced Thursday follows a separate Spotify deal with Kim Kardashian West on the podcast of criminal justice, as the Swedish platform continues to splash on a raft of original content.

The multi-year deal with DC parent WarnerMedia for an “original slate of narrative scripted podcasts” will explore “new shows based on the vast universe of the premier, iconic DC characters,” the companies said in a statement.

This did not specify the comic book characters will appear or the expense of the contract, which will also feature "new thrilling and adventure episodes" focused on other Warner Bros. titles.

But the deal comes as Spotify ramps up its podcast content, including the $100 million reported last month on "The Joe Rogan Experience," the most downloaded podcast in the United States.

On Wednesday, it emerged Spotify had inked an exclusive deal with Kardashian West, the reality star turned criminal justice advocate.

The show will investigate the case of Kevin Keith, a convicted mass murderer who maintains his innocence for the 1994 death of three people, including a four-year - old child, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Keith 's death sentence was commuted to life in prison by the governor of Ohio in 2010 due to unanswered questions in his case.

Several dozen former judges, lawyers and prosecutors believe he may have been wrongly convicted and had called for his execution to be halted.

Spotify confirmed the deal with Kardashian West to AFP, but declined to offer any further details.

For a little over a year, Spotify has slowly been moving into the podcast world.

At the beginning of 2019, it acquired the podcasting service Gimlet Studios for about $230 million, as well as the software platform Anchor for more than $100 million.

Then in February, Spotify purchased The Ringer, a sporting then television development company, for between $141 million and $195 million, based on a variety of factors.

Source: AFP