Google Podcasts is going to the graveyard as YouTube Music takes over
Emma Roth,
Google Podcasts is going away. Starting next year, Google will focus on
offering podcast access within YouTube Music instead.
This change doesn’t come as a complete surprise. In April, Google
launched the ability for users in the US to listen to podcasts in
YouTube Music without a paid membership. It also lets users listen to
podcasts offline and in the background while also switching between the
audio and video versions on YouTube Music. As part of its podcasts push,
YouTube also announced it will make podcasts available within YouTube
Music globally before the end of 2023.
First launched on Android in 2018, Google Podcasts offered a way for
users to listen to a library of podcasts for free while also receiving
personalized recommendations. In 2020, Google rolled out a redesign for
the app and finally brought it to iOS. The service is also available on
the web, Windows, and macOS.
“Looking forward to 2024, we’ll be increasing our investment in the
podcast experience on YouTube Music — making it a better overall
destination for fans and podcasters alike with YouTube-only capabilities
across community, discovery and audio/visual switching,” YouTube writes
in a blog post. “Later in 2024, as part of this process, we’ll be
discontinuing Google Podcasts.”
YouTube justifies the discontinuation of Google Podcasts by saying the
move “matches what listeners and podcasters are already doing.” It cites
data from Edison, which suggests 23 percent of weekly podcast users in
the US say YouTube is their most frequently used service, as opposed to
4 percent for Google Podcasts.
YouTube will also help Google Podcasts move over to YouTube Music by
providing “a simple migration tool and the ability to add podcast RSS
feeds to their YouTube Music library.” The platform will also offer a
tool that lets users download an OPML file of their show subscriptions,
allowing them to upload it to other listening platforms.
The Verge
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