Digital magazine and newspaper app Readly is launching podcasts on its platform. The first phase is in collaboration with three British publishers whose podcasts in areas such as food, politics, celebrity and crime are available via the associated publication page on Readly. From early June readers can listen to 25 podcasts such as Today in Focus from Guardian News & Media, The TopGear Magazine Podcast from Immediate Media and The MoneyWeek Podcast from Future Publishing. The launch aims to meet the increased demand for podcast content, boost the use of Readly and give publishers greater value.

The roll out of the service will eventually include podcasts from additional countries and interest areas. There is also a focus on gathering user insights that will form the basis for further development of the service. In addition to qualitative customer surveys, Readly will collect data on listening time, number of episodes played, number of users listening, how it affects magazine reading and also how it affects retention and conversion.

The podcast player is initially launched on iOS devices only.