An Apology To Bloomberg Together With The Fiscal Times

On Fri nosotros posted the most snarky headline "Bloomberg, Financial Times Invent....Radio! (plus: a tidings aggregator is gear upward to overstep Uber every bit highest-valued 'start-up')" regarding:

"Bloomberg Media inward May introduced a text-to-audio component subdivision inward its app in addition to online alongside the hunch that commuters would prefer to multitask spell getting their news."...

The Financial Times was quicker on the uptake, having started their experiments inward 2017 in addition to reported past times Digiday a year-ago, tomorrow:
Why the Financial Times is converting text articles to audio

FT Labs — the publisher’s four-person experimental unit of measurement — has been converting its text articles into sound to figure out its readers’ appetite for listening to articles.
The publisher has been using Amazon Polly to convert the text articles into audio, read past times artificial phonation named Amy....

Well, it turns out at that spot is a lot to a greater extent than to the concern than mightiness commencement appear to the untrained midpoint (mine). Like podcasts inward China.

From MarketPlace, September 13:
FOMO inward mainland People's Republic of China is a $7 billion industry

Chen Jun, 34, rents a minor bird inward Shanghai. He, his married adult woman in addition to his tyke portion i bedroom, his brother’s household unit of measurement shares unopen to other in addition to his parents slumber on a bed inward the corner of the living room side past times side to the entrance.

The living scheme is a chip of a squeeze, but according to official statistics, Chen’s living province of affairs is mutual for migrant workers, similar his family, who come upward from the countryside.

Shanghai is much to a greater extent than expensive than his native Hubei Province inward fundamental China.

With a 2-year-old immature adult woman in addition to household unit of measurement responsibilities, Chen said he must operate difficult in addition to dream big.

For several years, he worked every bit a database engineer. Chen was making $2,300 a month, which is most double the average salary for white-collar workers inward Shanghai. However, Chen said he was e'er on the ticker to upgrade his skills in addition to better his fiscal prospects.

"I was working at a state-owned insurance firm, in addition to thus it was a chip stressful. I oftentimes worked overtime, sometimes throughout the weekend without a break," he said.

Eventually, he came across a podcast from bitcoin tycoon Li Xiaolai.

“The podcast is called ‘The Path to Financial Freedom.’ Who wouldn’t hold out attracted past times that?” Chen said.

He said the podcast played a large purpose inward his conclusion to quit his stable undertaking to invest inward cryptocurrency.

Chen pays an annual subscription fee of 199 renminbi ($29), which he said is affordable.

There are podcasts inward mainland People's Republic of China that are advertizing driven in addition to costless for listeners, simply similar inward the United States. Chen said though that he believes the character of the costless content is to a greater extent than amusement driven in addition to non every bit useful for his self-improvement.

“Mobile payment has made it in addition to thus convenient in addition to these professional person sound platforms offering goodness character podcasts for a minor fee,” Chen said. 

He has paid for to a greater extent than than a dozen podcasts, to a greater extent than often than non educational lectures on Chinese history, health, the economy, finance in addition to learning methods. Altogether he has spent $160 on podcasts.

Podcasts alongside subscription fees, interactive Q&A’s online alongside experts or celebrities in addition to live-streaming lecture-sessions where the audience tin ship away participate in addition to pay every bit they wishing are what people inward mainland People's Republic of China refer to every bit the "pay-for-knowledge" economy.

It was estimated to hold out worth $7.3 billion final year, alongside the mass of the revenues from paid podcasts, according to a query establish run past times China's State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film in addition to Television. The figure is focused alone on consumers paying straight for content online in addition to does non include ad-driven podcasts.

By comparison, the U.S. podcast manufacture mainly makes money through advertising. It reported advertizing revenues amounting to $314 meg final year, according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau....

...MORE 

So apologies to the FT in addition to the L.P. for jumping the gun on the reaction.

As it volition likely come about again, I'll continue the apology template handy.