The YouTube App seems to be officially intent on taking on Apple and Spotify with one page dedicated to podcasts. As reported by 9to5Google, in fact, this is still being implemented, even if it is already visible as a “Podcast” link within the “Explore” section. Of course, the page is not yet available to all users, but in the meantime we can take a preview look at it.
Credits: 9to5Google
YouTube: Podcasts earn a dedicated page
As you can see in the image above, the YouTube “Podcast” page is finally accessible in the “Explore” section – at least for US users -. Despite this, however, she still has a rather rudimentary set-up. Inside, in fact, you can find a series of carousels for “Popular Episodes”, “Popular Podcast Playlists” and “Popular Podcast Creator”. For the rest, the page does nothing but refer to other categories: Comedy, True Crime, Sports, Music, TV and movies. As reported by 9to5Google, tapping one of the thumbnail videos the podcast is automatically played on Android, but otherwise there are no specific features.
But the simplicity of YouTube’s “Podcast” page doesn’t seem to be a problem at all. In May, a Cumulus study found that YouTube is already on its way surpassing podcasts from Apple and Spotify, thanks to the increase in video content and its ease of use. Therefore, it is very likely that the platform will decide to keep this format in the future as well. In any case, it would seem that YouTube has thus entered an open challenge to conquer the podcast market. And with good reason. Only last year the sector industry has exceeded one billion dollars of earnings – according to the Interactive Advertising Bureau -. And as if that weren’t enough, recent research by Nielsen reported that podcast streaming has overtaken cable TV in the United States for the first time. It is evident, then: YouTube is riding the right wave.