Facebook is shutting down its podcast business just one year after launching the service. This was confirmed by the parent body, Meta to Bloomberg in a statement that it is winding down the podcasting, Soundbites and its general audio hub services.
Facebook incursion into the audio market came as a result of the sudden explosion of interest in Clubhouse. Zuckerberg had said Facebook was looking to “treat audio as a first-class medium in the way that we would photos or video”.
Facebook will no longer let podcasters add shows to its platform as of this week, and will remove them entirely on June 3rd. Soundbites and the audio hub would shut down but it will be in the “coming weeks.”
A Meta spokesperson characterized the move as a matter of concentration. The move will help Meta “focus on the most meaningful experiences,” according to the representative.
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.
There were hints in recent weeks that Meta was losing interest in podcasts and shifting attention to hotter products like Facebook’s main feed and Instagram’s Reels.
1 Comment
Pingback: Facebook to discontinue location-based features such as Nearby Friends, Weather Alerts - Innovation Village | Technology, Product Reviews, Business