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Audible's Channels offer short-form content for $5 a month

The company moves beyond the audiobook with a range of programming and originals.

We've known about Audible's original content plans for for a few months now, but it turns out there were much bigger plans for the service. Today, the Amazon-owned company formally launched Audible Channels: a $5 monthly subscription that gets you shows, original series, comedy and news. If you're already paying for Audible, you won't have to pay extra for the new Channels. It's basically a podcast-like option from the service where the main focus has been audiobooks in the past. There's topic-based content alongside shows from notable publishers like The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, and The Onion and Audible's own originals.

The idea here is to give listeners more short-form options alongside full-length audiobooks and other selections that take a while to get through. And since it's free for folks who are already subscribers, it's sure to be a welcome benefit. In terms of those original Channels, there's "Presidents Are People Too" that humanizes a Commander in Chief by discussing quirks, flaws and other unique character traits. "Breasts Unbound" examines the "mysteries" of said body part with science journalist Florence Williams and "Mortal City" with crime report Kathleen Horan.

That's just a glimpse of what Audible has to offer in terms of originals and that doesn't include the dozens of Channels focusing on particular topics to choose from. Those subjects include sports, food, comedy, science, politics, mystery and romance plus the streams from well-known media outlets. The new lineup launches today, so you won't have to wait to try it out.