What you need to know
- Facebook is pulling out of the podcast business.
- The company will no longer allow podcasters to add podcasts to Facebook starting this week.
- It plans to remove podcasts from its app altogether starting on June 3.
After a year at taking a crack at it, Facebook has decided to pull out of the podcast business.
As reported by Bloomberg, the company has sent a note to podcasting partners that it plans to remove podcasts from its social media app altogether starting on June 3. It will also stop allowing podcasters to add podcasts to the app starting this week.
A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to Bloomberg that the Soundbites feature and central audio hub, which powers the podcasting experience, will be shut down in the "coming weeks."
"We're constantly evaluating the features we offer so we can focus on the most meaningful experiences," a Meta spokesperson said an email. The person added that they didn't have a specific date on when Soundbites and the audio hub would shut down but it will be in the "coming weeks."
Oddly, Facebook said that it doesn't plan to tell anyone on Facebook that podcasts are going to be removed. That responsibility will fall on podcasters to alert their audience.
In the note to partners, Facebook said it doesn't plan to alert users to the fact that podcasts will no longer be available, leaving it up to the publishers to decide how they want to disclose that information. Live Audio Rooms will be integrated into Facebook Live, meaning users can choose to go live with just audio or audio and video.
Facebook has attempted to get into podcasts since April of last year, but it never really took off. Most people use Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or another podcast-specific service to access all of the shows that they want to listen to.
Facebook's exit from the podcast business continues to solidify Apple and Spotify's hold on the market.
