Google is shutting down its Podcasts app within the U.S. in a matter of days. The corporate has begun warning the app’s customers they might want to migrate their subscriptions to YouTube Music by April 2 to comply with and stream their favourite exhibits going ahead. Customers who don’t make the transfer instantly will nonetheless have extra time emigrate, however will not have the ability to stream from the Podcasts app immediately after this date.
The Google Podcasts app, put in over 500 million instances on Android units globally, for over half a decade has supplied a easy and streamlined interface for locating, following and listening to podcasts, in addition to instruments so as to add podcasts by RSS feed. Sadly for followers of the app, the tech large stated final September it will start to wind down the Podcasts app in early 2024 as a part of its broader plan to centralize its audio providers beneath YouTube.
In 2020, YouTube Music supplied an identical transition technique to transfer music listeners away from Google Play Music forward of its shutdown that very same 12 months. Nonetheless, the Google Podcasts app continued to be maintained for years as a result of YouTube Music wasn’t able to help podcasts till extra lately. By the top of 2023, YouTube Music was capable of help podcasts globally, and, by February, they’d the power to add their RSS feeds, too.
The transfer to shift podcasting over to YouTube may assist Google turn out to be an even bigger participant within the area, not solely by combining its efforts and sharpening its focus, but in addition as a result of curiosity in video podcasts — which have been already standard on YouTube — is on the rise. This week, for instance, Spotify cast a cope with Common Music Group (UMG) to carry video podcasts to U.S. customers of its streaming app after earlier in March asserting checks of video podcasts in 11 different markets all over the world.
Bleeping Laptop was the primary to note the shutdown date for Google Podcasts within the U.S., and a help web page on Google’s web site confirms that customers within the U.S. will solely have the ability to use the Podcasts app by means of the top of March 2024. For individuals who miss the in-app pop-ups, Google will provide customers extra time to save lots of their subscriptions by permitting them to make use of the app’s export function by means of July 2024.
Google didn’t instantly return a request for remark, however after publication did reply to say that whereas it was nonetheless “monitoring in the direction of” the April 2 timeline for the U.S., it has not shared a timeline for the remainder of the world but.
From its earlier statements, although, the plan is to discontinue Google Podcasts globally in 2024.
Up to date, 3/29/24, 5:00 PM ET with Google remark.
