New York (AFP)

The New York Times announced Wednesday that it would acquire Serial Productions, the company behind "Serial", the first great success of the podcast universe, a sign of the appetite of this press group in a rapidly consolidating environment.

Created by producers of the American public radio's benchmark show "This American Life", Serial Productions brought the podcast into a new era with "Serial", which was released in 2014.

He popularized the so-called "true crime" genre, documentary series that evoke criminal cases, but also sometimes embark on a counter-investigation.

By examining the case of Adnan Syed, sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his former girlfriend, of whom he claims to be innocent, "Serial" allowed the reopening of the case by American justice.

The case went to the Supreme Court, but the latter shut the door last year to a new trial.

“Serial” went on to have two more seasons, on other topics, even though Season 3 looked at a court in Cleveland.

Including "S-Town", another program produced by Serial Productions, the four seasons have been downloaded to date more than 625 million times, a record of its kind.

After the acquisition, the amount of which was not disclosed, Serial Productions will continue to produce podcasts under its banner, which will benefit from the promotional strike force of the New York Times, according to a statement released Wednesday.

The endorsement of the New York press group will also allow the studio to produce more programs than in the past.

Serial Productions is already preparing to launch its first podcast as a subsidiary of the New York Times on July 30.

It is about "Nice White Parents" (sympathetic white parents), which is interested in the role of the white families in the structuring of the public school in the United States.

It's a great acquisition for The New York Times, which embarked on the podcast in 2017 with its daily news program "The Daily".

It immediately ranked among the most popular podcasts in the United States. Last year, the group reported that the program had passed the two million daily downloads mark.

The group has also already launched mini-series, in particular "1619", variation of a file on the importance of slavery in the construction of the United States.

© 2020 AFP