I'll imagine that Apple will be seeking to create a platform for podcast creators, and it's something to get behind. Although the press release suggests the it's
Premium Subscription to start with. Here are the three tiers I could see:
1. Free (ad supported). Apple offer the hosting platform and people can sign up and create a podcast feed (eg Audioboom, Acast, and Wondery - now owned by Amazon Music). They would be monetising the fact that they have a legacy lead in podcast discovery thanks to iTunes and have a free Podcast App as well as directory that people use. Ads will be inserted by Apple inline with the audio so creators don't have to edit them in and they'll be able to do in-house .
2. Premium. Not free but but behind a paywall that perhaps become available to Apple One or Apple Music subscribers. Podcast creators get payments as though they were Apple Music artists (eg fractions of a penny per stream).
3. Premium Subscription. This is Apple's Patreon challenger which they are offering up front with Apple Podcast Subscriptions - they take their percentage of a monthly subscription in return for ad free content from the creator.
The killer app here is that Apple don't have to make it just for audio podcasts but could perhaps take on video podcasts - so in theory why couldn't Youtubers (eg iJustine) put a version of their videos on this service? Perhaps these versions are cut so that author read ads are not included for example (like the ubiquitous Squarespace).
I really do hope Apple make a go at this. They have a history of letting things slide badly if they don't make the required level of profit. They have a host of creators and offer all the tools they need to make podcasts.
By the looks of the press release, they'll be starting with podcasts from The Athletic. If this is the case listeners who don't already subscribe to The Athletic could avoid the betting ads.