Google podcasts shuts while YouTube axes Premium Lite subscription plan

Google will be shutting down its Google Podcasts app next year to focus on creating a centralised podcast destination on YouTube Music with plans to make Podcasts on YouTube Music available globally by the end of 2023. Google will also be increasing investment in the podcast experience on YouTube Music and will aid Google Podcasts users in moving over to Podcasts on YouTube Music, according to the brand in a statement.

In fact, 23% of weekly podcast users in the United States have already said that YouTube is their most frequently used service which is in contrast to 4% for Google Podcasts, the statement explained. As part of the transition, Google Podcasts users will be able to add podcast RSS feeds to their YouTube Music library, including shows not currently hosted by YouTube.

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In the coming months, Google will be gathering feedback on the migration process and will release the migration tools when they are ready. “We know this transition will take time, but these efforts will allow us to build an amazing product and a single destination that rewards creators and artists and provides fans with the best Podcasts experience,” said Google in a statement.

As Google ramps up its YouTube music offerings, it will reportedly be pulling the plug on its Premium Lite subscription plan that it has been piloting in select countries in Europe. The lower-cost subscription plan offered ad-free viewing across YouTube apps without its premium features such as offline downloads, background playback and YouTube Music benefits.

In an email to its customers, YouTube announced it will no longer offer Premium Lite after October 25th 2023, as reported by The Verge. In the meantime, YouTube will be offering Lite subscribers a one-month free trial of YouTube Premium, regardless of whether they have had a trial before.

YouTube has also unveiled a slew of new artificial intelligence-powered tools to help creators produce videos and reach a wider audience on the platform. This is in a bid to make content creation an easier process, according to YouTube in a statement. These tools, YouTube said, aim to open up new forms of creative expression, reduce time-consuming and expensive tasks and allow creators to reach more viewers.

The first tool, a gen-AI feature dubbed “Dream Screen” is specifically for its short-form video arm, YouTube Shorts. 

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