Google Podcasts is hitting the pause button. The announcement regarding the termination of the podcast app was made in September of last year. The service has been unavailable in the US since April 2nd, with users being asked to move their subscriptions to YouTube Music, which appears to be Google's primary “podcatcher” from now on. Users in India will still be able to access Google Podcasts on both apps. and on the web, multiple reports suggest it won't be long before other regions follow suit.
Launched in 2018, Google Podcasts has recorded over 500 million downloads on the Play Store. For me, this was an early introduction to the world of podcasting through an app that was minimally designed and easy to use. There was also an option to add podcasts via an RSS feed. Six years later, I still have a subscription. Reply to all and science weekly On Google Podcasts. For Android users, this was probably the go-to app until Spotify entered India in his 2019.
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of Media Morph in 2024 Google Podcasts accounts for 20% of Indian users, making it the second most popular platform after Spotify (44%), according to a report released on April 1 by YouGov, a UK-based market research and data analysis company. It turns out to be a podcast app. Audible (15%) is his third. Spotify is popular among his Gen Z and has grown over the past two years, increasing from 33% in 2022 to 44% in 2024. Google Podcasts decreased, increasing from 24% to 20% over the same period. Seven in ten (71%) of Gen Z respondents said they listen to podcasts weekly, compared to two-thirds (67%) of India's overall urban population. .
“Similar to Apple Podcasts, which is native to iOS devices, when Google Podcasts came to market, there were high expectations because it was a native app for Android devices…a clean interface and searchability. It also meant one less app to download to listen to,” says Sean Fant, producer and chief operating officer at Made in India, a Mumbai-based podcast production company and audio consultancy. Mr. Home says.
Fanthome says the app's analytics also helped creators access interesting data points. “On the creative side, some of the data analytics that Google can provide is not yet available on other platforms. Previously, it provided information about impressions and searchability…When someone searches for a podcast, We were able to find the keywords used in the podcast,” says Fanthome. “YouTube Music is a great opportunity. The integration is great and YouTube is his second biggest search engine of the world.”
Even if you're not a fan of YouTube Music, there are other podcast apps that can do the job. Spotify (for creators: Spotify for Podcasters, formerly Anchor), Pocket Casts, Overcast, Podbean Podcast App & Player, and more.
Raj Hasnain is based in Delhi. shuffle the notes I used to do a music podcast, but I started doing it again in video format on YouTube. “But the most traffic I've seen comes from Spotify, sometimes even better than YouTube,” he says.
While Stitcher's closure last year meant we were slowly witnessing the end of the podcast aggregator app, Google Podcasts is now a junkyard known among internet history buffs as the “Google Graveyard.” added to the list. This is a number of products that the tech giant has shelved for years. Google Play Music, YouTube Stories, Google Stadia, Google Duo, Hangouts. do you remember?
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