ABC News launches 20/20 True Crime+ on Apple Podcasts
ABC News launches 20/20 True Crime+, a paid Apple Podcasts tier with ad-free shows, early drops, and exclusives. Timed to the debut, two series arrive: What Happened to the McStays? and Burden of Proof: Luigi Mangione. After a free seven-day trial, the plan costs $2.99 a month or $29.99 a year.
Key Takeaways
- ABC News launches 20/20 True Crime+ on Apple Podcasts as of Tuesday, July 28, aimed at true-crime superfans.
- Subscribers get ad-free new and archival 20/20 episodes, early access, and exclusives such as Q&As with Deborah Roberts.
- Early access covers the first three episodes of What Happened to the McStays? and the first episode of Burden of Proof: Luigi Mangione.
- Pricing is $2.99 monthly or $29.99 yearly after a free seven-day trial on Apple Podcasts.
- ABC executives say the tier extends fact-based 20/20 journalism beyond broadcast with unused interview material.
The move puts one of network news' best-known true-crime brands behind a dedicated podcast paywall while still promising weekly free premieres shortly after subscriber windows. For more alerts like this, follow Streaming & TV Alerts on BlasterPost.
What does the 20/20 True Crime+ subscription include?
According to Variety, the tier unlocks ad-free access to all 20/20 podcast content from new and archival episodes plus narrative series. Fans also get early access to new releases and exclusive extras, including subscriber Q&As with 20/20 co-anchor and 20/20: The After Show host Deborah Roberts.
Katie den Daas, SVP of global newsgathering at ABC News, said the Apple Podcasts launch is meant to super-serve genre fans while keeping 20/20's fact-based approach. She cited Apple's reach as the reason to launch there first, saying the goal is to make the content easy to access.
When do the Luigi Mangione and McStay series drop?
Burden of Proof: Luigi Mangione is hosted by ABC News legal analyst Brian Buckmire, previously of Bad Rap: The Case Against Diddy. True Crime+ subscribers get exclusive access to the first episode on Aug. 7 on Apple Podcasts, with the series premiere for non-subscribers on Aug. 10 and weekly episodes after that.
The five-part series covers the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson and the search for and arrest of alleged assassin Luigi Mangione, who has entered a not guilty plea. ABC News says it traces Mangione's path from a privileged Baltimore upbringing and examines what may have driven him as the case fueled debate over U.S. healthcare.
What Happened to the McStays?, hosted by ABC News correspondent Ashan Singh, premieres July 28 for subscribers and Aug. 11 for everyone else. It revisits the McStay family case: on Feb. 4, 2010, the family seemingly vanished from their Southern California home. Officials first concluded they had left for Mexico, a theory that later unraveled in the Mojave Desert and pointed to an unexpected suspect.
Why is ABC News pushing a podcast subscription now?
Janice Johnston, executive producer of 20/20, said the subscription gives the show a place for exclusive podcast material from TV cases such as the McStay family murders, plus podcast-only episodes. She noted that broadcast cuts leave strong interviews unused and that longer series can play those "gems."
For listeners, the pitch is simple: pay a modest fee for earlier drops and deeper cuts from a brand already known for prime-time true crime, then catch the wider release days later if you skip the sub.