Jason Snell, writing for Macworld, has a few thought on the news that Apple plans to fund original podcasts:

The great thing about podcasts—and I say this as both a listener and a creator of podcasts—is that it is, like the web, a free and open ecosystem for content. You can listen to any podcast in any podcast player. If Apple creates podcasts that can only be listened to in Apple’s own app, it is furthering a potential future where your favorite shows are scattered across multiple services and siloed in different apps.

The idea of a cable package of podcasts is the same problem people are having regarding all the streaming packages. People don’t want to pay for all the shows they want to watch by paying for 12 different streaming services that offer everything. The very idea of Apple-only or Spotify-only podcasts is understandable, but it will kill the current ecosystem.