Joe Hindy / Android Authority
TL;DR
- Google has brought podcast support to YouTube Music.
- The feature is only available to US consumers right now.
- Questions linger over the future of the Google Podcasts app as a result.
Several major music streaming platforms have integrated podcasts into their offerings, but YouTube Music wasn’t one of them. That’s slowly changing, as Google has just announced podcast support for the service.
Google used a support forum thread to announce that YouTube Music was now getting podcast support. The bad news is that this is limited to the US for now. The company noted that it planned to bring podcasts to markets outside the US in the future, but didn’t give a specific launch window.
There is some good news though, as Google says podcast support doesn’t require a paid YouTube Music plan. This extends to downloading podcasts, casting them, and more.
What does this mean for Google Podcasts?
It nevertheless makes sense to see YouTube Music gaining podcast support, as the main YouTube service is one of the most popular podcast platforms around.
However, several users online have already noted that the YouTube Music implementation pales in comparison to the official Google Podcasts app. At least one user in the thread noted that Google Podcasts had a much bigger library of podcasts as well as more features (e.g. auto-downloading new episodes and archiving played shows).
Do you plan to use YouTube Music for podcasts?
15 votes
We also wonder what YouTube Music’s podcast integration means for the Google Podcasts app. One potentially ominous sign appeared earlier this year when Google Podcasts stopped appearing in Google search results. It’s also worth noting that the Podcasts app received its last update in August 2022.
We’ve asked Google about a timeline for podcast integration in more markets, while also asking about the future of the Podcasts app. We’ll update the article accordingly if/when the company gets back to us.
