YouTube is rolling out support for podcasts.
YouTube is improving the experience of the users who visit the platform to consume podcasts.
Through the years, there have been an increasing number of podcast creators who choose to make their episodes available on YouTube.
With the newly released feature, YouTube is hoping to make it easier for its users to access podcasts on the platform.
On the other hand, this also gives the platform a chance to recommend numerous podcast shows to users that they might like, which will in turn benefit the creators.
YouTube Podcasts
To navigate to the new feature, just go to YouTube's Explore page, and there users will see a new category called "Podcast."
According to 9to5Google, YouTube.com/podcasts is now available on the Explore page alongside options like Movies & Shows, Trending, Music, News, Live, Sports, Gaming, Fashion & Beauty, and Learning.
On the podcast page, there are carousels users can explore, such as "Popular podcast creators," "Recommended," "Popular podcast playlists," "Popular episodes,"and "Show all."
The remaining portion of this page contains links to content organized into a variety of categories, including Comedy, True Crime, Sports, Music, and TV & Film, all of which are accessible via mobile device and the web.
It is likely that the podcast experience for end users will become more optimized over time. However, it is unknown what the user interface (UI) for YouTube Music will look like at this time.
YouTube's Expansion on Podcast
YouTube's expansion into the podcast industry has been reported for quite a while. There was a previous report in March about a presentation given to the company about the future of its podcasts.
The presentation provides extensive information regarding YouTube's strategy for implementing genuine podcast support.
A new search and discovery tool is going to be presented as part of the presentation. This tool will include a podcast destination page as well as official podcast cards that will appear in search results. It appears that this feature has already been deployed on today's podcast page.
This suggests that more features for the platform's podcasts will be coming. During that presentation, it has been reported that it will also include audience analytics and new metrics for audio-first creators.
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Podcasting Industry
Popular podcast shows, such as the Joe Rogan Experience and the H3 team, grew their followings on the service thanks to its discovery algorithm. These podcast shows have gone on to become some of the most-popular podcasters in the U.S.
There is an extremely high demand for podcast content, and it appears that plans are, at long last, coming together to meet that demand.
According to a report that was published by Bloomberg earlier this year, YouTube is reportedly reaching out to podcasters and podcast networks in an effort to entice them to create video adaptations of their shows by offering grants of up to $300,000.
The fact that the company is giving out offers of $50,000 to individual shows and $200,000 and $300,000 to podcast networks is a strong indicator that there will be more content related to podcasting on YouTube in the near future.
The Verge added that, according to Cumulus, YouTube is the most popular podcasting platform, ahead of Spotify and Apple.
