Since last year, we followed Spotify’s major pivot toward podcasts. Along with that, we got news that Facebook and YouTube were also going to make a move towards podcasting. Well, Facebook abandoned ship and YouTube’s podcasting venture is still in the womb. This leaves Spotify with a big lead in that regard.
But, Facebook is still offering its Live Audio Rooms
While Facebook is exiting the podcasting market, it’s not exiting the live audio market. The company is still going to support its Live Audio Rooms. The reason behind this might be as simple as the numbers. The Meta-owned company could be getting more people chatting in Live Audio Rooms than uploading podcast episodes. We can’t deny that Spotify did suck some of the air out of Facebook’s balloon in that regard. So, because of this, Facebook will put an end to uploading new podcast episodes sometime this week. While uploads will stop, people can still listen to previously uploaded episodes; however, that will only be until June 3rd. After that, those will all be taken down.
This will bring about a rebrand
So, Facebook isn’t only losing podcasts in lieu of Live Audio Rooms, it’s also losing the hub. The company has an audio hub where people can go for audio content. With the axing of podcasts, the hub is also going away. Along with that, Facebook Live Audio Rooms will get a new name. After the change, they will just be called Facebook Live. That’s, arguably, a better name. So, around this time next month, Facebook podcasts will be dust, and you’re going to need to find a different platform for podcasts. You can consider using Spotify for podcasts, as it’s a major player in the game. If you want to look elsewhere, you can also try Pocketcasts. It’s free, and you can save your podcasts and progress.
