Apple has reportedly signed a cope with podcast producer Futuro Studios to assist it fund the event and manufacturing of future podcasts, Bloomberg reports. In return for its Futuro deal, Apple will get first refusal on the rights to show any ensuing podcasts into a movie or TV present. It has already produced TV exhibits based mostly on the podcasts WeCrashed and The Shrink Next Door.

Long-form podcasts have emerged as a wealthy supply of inspiration for TV exhibits at a time when streaming companies are extra determined than ever for authentic content material. Hulu’s The Dropout was based mostly on an ABC News podcast of the identical identify, and the streaming service can also be reportedly adapting the podcast Wind of Change into a TV show.

Apple has publicly introduced podcasts with a number of studios in current months, together with At Will Media (for Wild Things: Siegfried & Roy), Campside Media (Run, Bambi, Run), Jigsaw Productions (The Line), and Pineapple Street Studios (Project Unabom), in a sequence of offers which have reportedly seen it spend as much as $10 million.

Apple’s podcasting offers have been lead by its Apple TV division, whereas its precise podcasting unit has reportedly prevented investing in particular titles in order to seem as a “neutral platform.” Apple and Futuro declined to remark to Bloomberg on its report, and didn’t instantly reply to The Verge’s request for remark.

Despite rolling out assist for podcast subscriptions final 12 months, Apple’s current audio releases counsel that its priorities are much less about getting cash on its exhibits straight. Instead, it seems to be utilizing them to learn different elements of its enterprise, both as a supply for future TV and movie diversifications or, within the case of companion podcasts for The Problem with Jon Stewart and For All Mankind, to make use of them as promotional tie-ins.

In distinction, competitor Spotify’s funding in The Joe Rogan Experience podcast concerned making the present unique to its platform in an try and drive new listeners to Spotify. Amazon has additionally signed offers for podcasts together with My Favorite Murder and How I Built This that contain exclusivity home windows.