Facebook is bowing out of the podcast business

Facebook
Facebook (Image credit: iMore)

What you need to know

  • Facebook is pulling out of the podcast business.
  • The company will no longer allow podcasters to add podcasts to Facebook starting this week.
  • It plans to remove podcasts from its app altogether starting on June 3.

After a year at taking a crack at it, Facebook has decided to pull out of the podcast business.

As reported by Bloomberg, the company has sent a note to podcasting partners that it plans to remove podcasts from its social media app altogether starting on June 3. It will also stop allowing podcasters to add podcasts to the app starting this week.

A spokesperson for Meta confirmed to Bloomberg that the Soundbites feature and central audio hub, which powers the podcasting experience, will be shut down in the "coming weeks."

"We're constantly evaluating the features we offer so we can focus on the most meaningful experiences," a Meta spokesperson said an email. The person added that they didn't have a specific date on when Soundbites and the audio hub would shut down but it will be in the "coming weeks."

Apple Podcasts app showing off iMore Show with AirPods on red tablecloth

Apple Podcasts app showing off iMore Show with AirPods on red tablecloth (Image credit: Christine Romero-Chan / iMore)

Oddly, Facebook said that it doesn't plan to tell anyone on Facebook that podcasts are going to be removed. That responsibility will fall on podcasters to alert their audience.

In the note to partners, Facebook said it doesn't plan to alert users to the fact that podcasts will no longer be available, leaving it up to the publishers to decide how they want to disclose that information. Live Audio Rooms will be integrated into Facebook Live, meaning users can choose to go live with just audio or audio and video.

Facebook has attempted to get into podcasts since April of last year, but it never really took off. Most people use Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or another podcast-specific service to access all of the shows that they want to listen to.

Facebook's exit from the podcast business continues to solidify Apple and Spotify's hold on the market.

Joe Wituschek
Contributor

Joe Wituschek is a Contributor at iMore. With over ten years in the technology industry, one of them being at Apple, Joe now covers the company for the website. In addition to covering breaking news, Joe also writes editorials and reviews for a range of products. He fell in love with Apple products when he got an iPod nano for Christmas almost twenty years ago. Despite being considered a "heavy" user, he has always preferred the consumer-focused products like the MacBook Air, iPad mini, and iPhone 13 mini. He will fight to the death to keep a mini iPhone in the lineup. In his free time, Joe enjoys video games, movies, photography, running, and basically everything outdoors.