BBC announced that BBC Radio’s in-house production division – previously called BBC Radio & Music Production – has relaunched as BBC Audio with a new development unit that is focused on podcasts.

The Creative Development Unit (CDU), based in Bristol, will turbocharge the production division’s podcast ambitions. The CDU team will draw upon the creative and production expertise across BBC Audio’s four production bases to develop landmark podcasts as well as partnerships and co-produced audio projects for the BBC. They will also work with teams and individuals – new to podcasting – on pitching and development.

The Creative Development Unit is a team of four people. It is led by Clare McGinn, who previously ran BBC Audio’s production department in Bristol. It builds on the success of recent BBC Audio podcasts including James Acaster’s Perfect Sounds and The Missing Cryptoqueen for BBC Sounds, Forest 404 and Evil Genius for Radio 4, 13 Minutes to the Moon and Fall of the Shah for World Service, and the BBC Earth podcasts for BBC Studios.

BBC Audio produces speech, music, and events programming for BBC Radio, The World Service, and BBC Sounds. The BBC Audio site showcases new and existing podcasts, as well as the full breadth of output and services from music and speech radio to entertainment formats and live events.