BBC Studios Launches BBC Podcasts Premium on Apple Podcasts in New Zealand

BBC Studios’ BBC Podcasts Premium has launched  in New Zealand exclusively on Apple Podcasts, marking the fourth territory where the subscription service is available following its successful debut in Australia, Canada and the US where it ranked as one of Apple Podcasts’ top 20 subscriber channels in 2022.

BBC Podcasts Premium offers ad-free early access to shows like In Our Time, Believe in Magic, People Who Knew Me and Vishal, and ad-free versions of popular shows across news, history, true crime, pop culture and science including BBC Global News Podcast, Business Daily and Football Daily.

Jennie Baird, BBC Studios EVP and MD of Digital News and Streaming, said: “The BBC is a world leader in audio content, from our world-renowned impartial news to a host of entertaining and informative podcasts that cover a diverse range of subjects and interests. Audiences in the US, Canada and Australia have embraced the opportunity to access our podcasts through this service and I’m delighted that we are now able to make this offering available to audiences in New Zealand on Apple Podcasts.”

Fiona Lang, General Manager of BBC Studios Australia and New Zealand, said: “It’s only two months since we launched BBC Podcasts Premium in Australia and already we are seeing strong demand so I’m pleased that we are now able to offer the same experience to listeners in New Zealand. This makes a curated selection of the best of the BBC’s extensive, quality podcast offering available at a one-stop destination, adding a subscription audio channel to our suite of branded television channels.”

With BBC Podcasts Premium, listeners get early ad-free access to box sets of a range of shows including Believe in Magic, the latest gripping investigative series from Jamie Bartlett (The Missing Cryptoqueen) which unravels the disturbing story behind Megan Bhari’s celebrity charity; Vishal, which traces the story of how a tip-off leads a BBC investigation into the unsolved child murder of Vishal Mehrotra and the discovery of a pedophile on the run; and fictional series People Who Knew Me voiced by award-winning actress Rosamund Pike; as well as episodes of Melvyn Bragg’s In Our Time, the definitive explanatory history series covering science, religion, philosophy and more. Subscribers also instantly unlock ad-free editions of some of the BBC’s best podcasts, including BBC Global News Podcast, with twice daily briefings on weekdays and daily editions on weekends;  Football Daily, keeping fans up to date with what is happening across the Premier League, EFL and  WSL; Lazarus Heist, the story of a secretive ring of elite North Korean hackers; Fairy Meadow, investigating the disappearance of three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer from an Australian beach in 1970; health and well-being series Just One Thing with Michael Mosley; and You’re Dead To Me, the comedic history podcast for people who don’t like history.

BBC Podcasts Premium is available now from the BBC Podcasts channel on Apple Podcasts for NZ $4.99 per month or at an annual price of NZ$49.99 a year. A free 7-day trial is available. 

SAMPLE OF SOME OF THE CONTENT AVAILABLE ON BBC PODCASTS PREMIUM 

Believe in Magic (Early access to episodes and ad-free, interview access available) Hosted by Jamie Bartlett, this gripping series tells the story of Megan Bhari, an inspirational 16-year-old girl who in 2012 launches a charity to grant wishes to seriously ill children. The charity, called Believe in Magic, attracts the support of the biggest boy band in the world: One Direction and  soon becomes a household name in the child cancer community, putting on fundraisers, sending thoughtful gifts and organising trips to Disney. Megan is adored by all those she helps and is given an award by the then-UK Prime Minister David Cameron.   

What’s even more remarkable is that Megan is seemingly extremely unwell. She starts a fundraising campaign for life-saving treatment in the United States for a brain tumour. But a group of internet sleuths start to suspect that Meg isn’t ill at all. When they discover Megan is in a Disney resort rather than a US hospital, they decide to hire a private detective to prove Megan isn’t ill and expose the truth to the world. 

But when Megan passes away in mysterious circumstances – the internet sleuths wonder if they’ve made a huge mistake. Author and journalist Jamie Bartlett and producer Ruth Mayer investigate the truth about Megan Bhari, tracing back over the sleuths’ incredible discoveries, meeting Megan’s old friends and supporters, and exploring one of the medical profession’s most confounding syndromes.    

What they uncover is a story of deception and celebrity obsession. After months of digging, Jamie and Ruth discover a secretive official investigation into Megan’s life. The conclusion is shocking – and will have far-reaching consequences for everyone involved. 

Vishal (Early access to episodes and ad-free, interview access available) On 29th July 1981, while the eyes of the world are on London and captivated by the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer, an eight-year-old boy disappears on his way home from the celebrations.  Despite a huge police search, he is never seen alive again. Seven months later the upper half of his body is discovered in a small patch of woodland in rural Sussex, many miles from home. Forty years on, and despite the emergence of new evidence, no-one has been brought to justice for the child’s murder and the police appear to have exhausted all their leads. Then one day, as the world is going into lockdown in 2020, a BBC local reporter receives a secretive message from a person who has worked within the police – they tell him they’ve seen something extraordinary that could blow the case wide open.   

That call sets in motion an epic true story – an astonishing podcast investigation, three years in the making, that has consequences no-one could have imagined.  As the team investigate, they track down and question a convicted pedophile, a teacher who fled the UK while being questioned by police in relation to child sexual abuse in the 1990s and has been on the run across the world for over 25 years. Most shocking of all, the series discovers that a UK police force had known his address for years and decided not to pursue him – while telling Vishal’s family they didn’t know where this man might be. 

People Who Knew Me (Early access to episodes and ad-free, launches May 22nd) People Who Knew Me tells the fictional story of a woman, Emily Morris, voiced by Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe & Emmy winner Rosamund Pike, who uses 9/11 to fake her own death and run away to start a new life in California as Connie Prynne. Fourteen years later, Connie Prynne is diagnosed with breast cancer. Now, with her thirteen-year-old daughter Claire by her side, voiced by Isabella Sermon, Connie must confront her past so that her daughter will not be alone if she does not survive. She must decide how to explain her lies, her secrets, her selfish decisions - and ultimately, her ‘widowed’ husband. Everything she thought she had fled from when she pretended to die in New York.

In Our Time (Early access to episodes and ad-free) – Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss the ideas, people and events that have shaped our world in this long-running series.

The Lazarus Heist S1&2 - An investigation into the activities of a secretive ring of elite North Korean hackers nicknamed the Lazarus Group, allegedly behind hacks on Sony Pictures Entertainment, The Bank of Bangladesh, the WannaCry ransomeware attack and a bank heist that saw nearly $14 million stolen from the accounts of Cosmos Bank in India.

Killing Victoria - During Queen Victoria’s reign seven men took the fateful decision to try to kill her. They were each within seconds of changing history yet each has been forgotten. This podcast series narrated by Dr Bob Nicholson asks what lead these men to try to kill the most famous and influential woman on the planet.

Lady Killers With Lucy Worsley Series 2 – Historian and author Lucy Worsley explores the ordinary lives and extraordinary crimes of women from the 19th and early 20th centuries from a contemporary feminist perspective.

BBC Global News Podcast – The day’s top stories from BBC News. Delivered twice a day on weekdays, daily editions on the weekend.

Business Daily – The daily drama of money and work.

Football Daily - Your daily dose of football reaction, debate & analysis from the Premier League, EFL, WSL and beyond, plus interviews with the biggest names in the game.​

 Fairy Meadow - In 1970, three-year-old Cheryl Grimmer was taken from an Australian beach. No-one knows what happened. Fifty years on - can the mystery be solved?

Just One Thing with Michael Mosley - If time is tight, what's the one thing that you should be doing to improve your health and wellbeing? Michael Mosley reveals surprisingly simple top tips that are scientifically proven to change your life.

You’re Dead To Me - the comedy podcast that takes history seriously. Greg Jenner brings together the best names in comedy and history to learn and laugh about the past.​

Americast – A US politics podcast from BBC news that delves into the social and cultural issues that define America today.

Inside Science -  A weekly programme that illuminates the mysteries and challenges the controversies behind the science that's changing our world.​

A History of the World in 100 Objects – 100 programmes that retell humanity's history through the objects we have made.

Putin - Jonny Dymond tells the extraordinary and revealing story of Vladimir Putin's life with the help of guests who have watched, studied and dealt with the Russian president.​

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For more information, please contact: Sue.Affleck@bbc.com T: +61 404 604 731