Google Podcasts was launched in 2016 as an alternative to Google Listen and Google Play Music Podcasts. Given the complicated history of Google with its social apps, the company has now decided to terminate yet another service.
Google is officially shutting down its standalone Podcasts app in April 2024, to focus on YouTube Music Podcasts. The company has set a deadline of July 2024 by which users will be able to transfer their subscriptions to either YouTube or manually save and transfer their podcasts to any other platform.
YouTube Music To Take Over Google Podcasts
In an attempt to bring all of its audio under a single platform, Google integrated podcasts into its YouTube Music app. While the idea sounds good, it meant that the company had to shut down its eight-year-old Google Podcasts app.
One year after the integration, Google has now finally called the date to retire its Podcasts app, which will be permanently shut down in April 2024. Until then, users can continue to use the podcasts app and website, and prepare to transfer their subscriptions.
Users can either transfer their podcasts to YouTube Music or download them manually as OPML files and save them elsewhere. This functionality will be available up to July 2024, post which all of your subscriptions and saved podcasts could get deleted.
Google is also offering a transfer tool, which will help users to transfer their subscriptions and podcasts to YouTube Music with ease. However, the tool is only available in the United States as of now. Google is expected to release this tool globally soon.
Google’s Multiple Tries at Podcasts
In case you are wondering, this is Google’s fourth attempt in streamlining its podcasts service. Google Listen was launched by the company in 2009, which was good until it was merged with Google Play Music.
However, Google then wanted to separate its podcasts section from its music library and hence launched a standalone podcasts app in 2016. The implementation was not at its best, as Google Podcasts was only accessible on Android smartphones, that too only through Google Search. The iOS app for Google Podcasts came way later in 2020.
Considering the massive success of YouTube Music with its fluid app interface and bundled subscription with YouTube Premium, it makes sense from Google’s perspective why the company wants all of its audio products under the single app.
The user interface of the Google Podcasts app and YouTube Music Podcasts is very similar. Hence, users will not face any huge difference in their app usage experience.
YouTube has also been recently pushing its Premium Subscription by waging a war against adblockers. When Google Podcasts users start shifting to YouTube Music, it will allow the platform to cater to an additional audience, which could potentially be their upcoming premium subscribers. YouTube has also hiked the costs of its premium subscription in certain markets.
