I just went to check it on the iPhone App store. I know that ratings might not mean anything? but, I noticed it was rated 3.9 of 5 stars vs several other podcasts with up to 6x to 90x more votes and 4.5 to 5 stars.

Is it just a popularity contest or are those other apps better?

Podcast App (4.8, 228k votes)

Google Podcasts (4.7, 10k votes)

Overcast (4.7, 33k votes)

Podcast Player - Castbox (4.8, 98k votes)

Pocket Casts (3.9, 2.8k votes)

Stitcher (4.8, 4.7k votes)

Discounting the apple podcast app (4.9, 973k votes) since it's built in and therefore has an unfair advantage.

Might explain why it was sold if it was clear it wasn't winning. I certainly like the idea of a player that doesn't report to someone my interests.