Times titles unveil weekly business podcast

The New Digital Age reports that The Times and The Sunday Times have launched The Business, a new weekly podcast fronted by senior journalists Hannah Prevett and Dominic O’Connell.

The show aims to offer in-depth analysis of a single major business story each week, supported by high-profile guests from across sectors. Sponsored by PwC for its first six months, the podcast is pitched as a way to bring the titles’ authoritative business coverage to a wider audience through audio.

Key Points from New Digital Age’s Coverage

• The podcast will feature weekly deep dives into a standout business story, with expert guests including founders, CEOs and market leaders.

• Dominic O’Connell said: “For years I have been having conversations with top business people to try and work out what is going on behind the scenes. This podcast will give listeners the opportunity to hear those conversations, and understand that chief executives are much like everyone else – trying to do the best job, and with a complex range of motivations and limitations.”

• Hannah Prevett highlighted the wider context, commenting: “This is a pivotal moment for business — companies are navigating economic headwinds, political change and the AI revolution. Our podcast will cut through the noise to tell the real stories behind the headlines and explore why they matter to all of us.”

• Executive producer Kate Ford said the aim is to make the titles’ business expertise “essential listening for anyone who wants to stay on top.”

• PwC’s Marco Amitrano said the firm is sponsoring the show because “quality conversation becomes all the more important” as technology reshapes work.

My Analysis

This move signals how legacy news brands continue to expand their audio portfolios in search of deeper engagement and new commercial opportunities. A weekly business podcast aligns neatly with The Times and The Sunday Times’ positioning as destinations for serious business journalism, and the choice of two experienced hosts adds credibility. The sponsorship from PwC underscores the ongoing appetite among professional services firms to align themselves with high-quality editorial environments, especially in formats that foster habitual listening.

For publishers more broadly, the launch illustrates how podcasts have become an increasingly important part of subscription and engagement strategies. By offering specialist audio content tied closely to newsroom expertise, titles can strengthen loyalty among existing subscribers while opening the door to new audiences who might discover the brand through audio first. It also presents opportunities to package high-value B2B content for advertisers and sponsors seeking targeted reach.

Looking ahead, one scenario is that this podcast becomes a funnel into premium business products, helping The Times build out higher-value membership tiers. Another possibility is that it serves as a testbed for broader audio expansion, with more vertical-specific programmes following if audience response is strong. Either way, the launch reflects a continuing shift towards multimedia newsrooms that view audio as integral to their reader revenue and commercial strategies.