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Apple restores Glenn Beck podcasts following ‘trademark dispute’

Radio host Glenn Beck appears at an event in 2019. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)
Radio host Glenn Beck appears at an event in 2019. (Photo by Gage Skidmore)

Episodes of Glenn Beck’s radio program were briefly pulled from Apple Podcasts this week following an unusual “trademark dispute” that has since been resolved, officials at the tech company say.

The issue was first made public by Beck himself, who took to social media with various complaints about Apple after all episodes of “The Glenn Beck :Program” were pulled from the iTunes Store and Apple Podcasts without explanation.



Beck suggested the move was part of a broader conspiracy at Apple to censor him and his program, though officials at Apple said it was actually connected to a “trademark dispute.”

Apple declined to provide additional information about the nature of the dispute. Mercury Radio Arts, a production company founded by Beck, holds at least three active trademarks connected to Beck’s name and the name of his show, according to a database on the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office website.



The issue impacted around 3,000 episodes of Beck’s self-titled radio show, which is also distributed to radio stations across the country. By Wednesday, all episodes were available to download once again on Apple Podcasts and the iTunes Store.

The show was not removed from any other platform.

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About the Author:

Matthew Keys

Matthew Keys is a nationally-recognized, award-winning journalist who has covered the business of media, technology, radio and television for more than 11 years. He is the publisher of The Desk and contributes to Know Techie, Digital Content Next and StreamTV Insider. He previously worked for Thomson Reuters, the Walt Disney Company, McNaughton Newspapers and Tribune Broadcasting.
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