Google has announced its decision to shut down the Google Podcasts app later in 2024, marking a pivotal shift in its podcast strategy.
– Key details to note
The move is part of Google’s broader effort to migrate its streaming listeners to YouTube Music, where it will concentrate its resources on enhancing the podcast experience.
Earlier this year, Google revealed its plans to integrate podcasts into YouTube Music, initially in the United States and then globally by the end of the year. Furthermore, the company unveiled its intention to enable podcasters to upload their RSS feeds to YouTube Music, expanding the platform’s podcast offerings.
Google has outlined its commitment to bolstering the podcast experience within YouTube Music, focusing on discovery, community engagement, and seamless transitions between audio and video podcasts. This move, according to reports, aligns with how people are currently consuming podcasts, with more users turning to YouTube over Google Podcasts.
According to Edison Research, approximately 23% of weekly podcast users in the United States claim YouTube as their most frequently used service, compared to just 4% for Google Podcasts.
– Learn more
To facilitate the transition to YouTube Music, Google says it will provide Google Podcasts users with migration tools and the ability to add podcast RSS feeds to their YouTube Music library. These migration tools are currently under development and will be rolled out to users in the coming weeks and months.
Additionally, Google will support the option for users to download an OPML file of their show subscriptions from Google Podcasts. This file can then be uploaded to any app that supports importing, providing flexibility for those who prefer not to switch to YouTube Music.
In a blog post, YouTube emphasized its commitment to creating a single, rewarding destination for podcast creators, artists, and fans.
“For now, nothing is changing and fans will continue to have access to YouTube, YouTube Music, and Google Podcasts. We’re committed to being transparent in communicating future changes with our users and podcasters and will have more to share about this process in the coming months,” it said.
Google’s decision to discontinue the Google Podcasts app follows a gradual shift away from older products, with a focus on making YouTube Music a more formidable competitor to Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, and other platforms.
In 2020, a similar transition strategy was employed to migrate music listeners from Google Play Music to YouTube Music ahead of the latter’s shutdown. However, podcasts pose unique challenges as many users already rely on YouTube itself for podcast consumption.
Discover more from Pluboard
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.