A popular Google app, enjoyed by millions of people across the world, will be axed by the tech giant in weeks.
The Google Podcast app which has been downloaded more than 500 million times was launched in 2018 but will be shut down on June 23, 2024.
Listeners of the app are being encouraged to migrate to the YouTube Music app, also owned by the tech giant, to listen to their podcasts after Google revealed that the podcast app was not popuar.
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“We’ll be helping Google Podcasts users move over to Podcasts in YouTube Music, the tech giant wrote on their official blog. “This matches what listeners and podcasters are already doing: according to Edison (Research), about 23 per cent of weekly podcast users in the US say YouTube is their most frequently used service, versus just 4 per cent for Google Podcasts.”
Australian data on podcast listening by Edison Research does not make the same direct comparison, omitting Google Podcast from its data all together, but noted 61 per cent of surveyed users listened to podcasts on YouTube Music, 6 per cent fewer than Spotify.
Migration assistance will be offered to users, and the company is currently collating feedback on the process to formulate advice to support the months-long phase out.
“For users, it means a simple migration tool and the ability to add podcast RSS feeds to their YouTube Music library, including shows not currently hosted by YouTube,” it said.
It also said the move comes as an opportunity for podcast creators to expand their audiences with both audio and video formats.
But shortly after the announcement was made last year, listeners rallied online, making their attachment to the podcast-specific app’s simplicity known.
“The main reason I love Google Podcasts is that it’s an app that does one thing right,” one person wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Google Podcasts is dying in favour of booting its functionality to YouTube Music. Does anyone else prefer just having a dedicated app for podcasts? Just me? I’m annoyed,” another wrote.
“What’s the point of killing clean, focused, simple products and adding them to a messy, ad-littered environment?” another wrote.
“Google. Can I please acquire Google Podcasts from you? If you don’t see value in it, I’m more than happy to take it off your hands,” another said.