Google announced a plan regarding its content service for podcasts, confirming that Google Podcasts will be discontinued in the United States. The goal is to encourage creators and listeners to shift their podcast content to YouTube Music, where episodes can be discovered, played, and subscribed to without requiring a separate subscription.
Earlier this year, the tech giant clarified its strategy: while continuing to invest in podcasts, the company will transition most of the activity to YouTube. The move aims to consolidate podcast listening on a single platform rather than sustaining two separate services.
With the closure, Google has pledged to equip creators with the right tools to migrate shows, episodes, and audiences to YouTube Music. The intention is to keep audiences intact and preserve accessibility, ensuring listeners can enjoy podcasts on the same platform they use for music streaming.
Current information indicates that Google Podcasts will stop operating in the United States in April 2024. As reported by 9to5Google, access to the service will remain available through March of that year, giving users time to adjust and prepare for the transition.
Additionally, Google noted that podcasts not yet available on YouTube can be added to a listener’s YouTube Music library directly through the podcast’s RSS feed, simplifying the migration. This feature helps keep existing podcast catalogs available in a familiar environment without forcing listeners to re-subscribe or recreate playlists.
The company also described an export option that allows users to export Google Podcast subscriptions as OPML files. This capability enables migration to third-party platforms and will be supported until July 2024. The plan is to broaden this transition window gradually to other countries beyond the United States, making it easier for international audiences to move content and subscriptions as needed.
In practical terms, creators and listeners should expect a phased closure of Google Podcasts, with migration tools designed to minimize disruption. The shift toward YouTube Music reflects a broader strategy to unify audio content under a single ecosystem, where podcasts, music, and other audio experiences can be accessed seamlessly across devices and regions. The ongoing focus remains on preserving audience reach, maintaining easy discovery, and offering flexible options for subscription management and content export across platforms.