Google Podcasts App Shutting Down in the US: Users Urged to Migrate to YouTube Music

(CTN News) – Google will shut down its Google Podcasts app in the US in a few days. The business has began alerting app users that they would need to move their subscriptions to YouTube Music by April 2 in order to continue following and streaming their favorite shows.

Users who do not make the transition immediately will have more time to do so but will no longer be able to stream directly from the Podcasts app after this date.

The Google Podcasts app has been installed on over 500 million Android devices worldwide for over a decade. It provides a user-friendly interface for discovering, following, and listening to podcasts and capabilities for adding podcasts via RSS feed.

Last September, Google announced that the Podcasts app would be phased out in early 2024 as part of a larger strategy to consolidate audio services under YouTube.

In 2020, YouTube Music used a similar technique to migrate music listeners from Google Play Music, which was shutting down that year.

Additional Details and Timeline for Google Podcasts Shutdown

However, the Google Podcasts app remained maintained for many years because YouTube Music did not support podcasts until recently. By the end of 2023, YouTube Music supported podcasts globally and added the ability to post RSS feeds in February.

The decision to move podcasting to YouTube might help Google become a greater player in the field, not just by merging efforts and narrowing its focus but also because interest in video podcasts, which are already popular on YouTube, is growing.

Spotify has announced a partnership with Universal Music Group (UMG) to offer video podcasts in the United States, following tests in 11 other markets in March.

Google Podcasts will be shut down in the US on March 31, 2024, according to a support page on Google’s website. Bleeping Computer was the first to report this. For those who miss the in-app pop-ups, Google will give customers more time to keep their subscriptions by allowing them to use the app’s export option until July 2024.

Google did not immediately react to a request for comment, but did answer after publication, stating that while it was still “tracking towards” the April 2 deadline for the United States, it had not yet revealed a timeframe for the rest of the world.

According to past remarks, Google Podcasts will be discontinued globally in 2024.