New information reveals the “YouTube App” will have a Podcast homepage

A leaked document (exclusive) by Pod News reveals YouTube will likely integrate podcast RSS feeds with a new podcast homepage to be located at youtube.com/podcasts (URL not functional for now). According to the report, “Podnews has been sent an 84-page presentation produced by YouTube, intended for podcast publishers.” It looks like the world’s largest video platform is constantly expanding its podcasting capabilities.

As reported by Podnews, YouTube has provided an overview of its podcast strategy and aims to move podcasts to a new home page at YouTube.com/podcasts in the near future. The document reveals that audio adverts will be offered by Google and its partners in the future on YouTube. The document also talks about metrics and how to use YouTube data to measure podcasts.

By using RSS feeds, podcasters would be able to upload their audio broadcasts to YouTube, where YouTube would give audio ads and analytics to help them promote their content. PodNews says, “YouTube will also supply analytics, particularly “new metrics for audio-first creators”.” It might expect something aligning with the IAB guidelines. Based on its findings, “YouTube appears to be working with podcast attribution, like that available from Nielsen, Podtrac, and Chartable. Chartable was bought by Spotify in February, so perhaps this slide shows companies that YouTube have worked with, rather than companies it might work with in future.”

Recently, YouTube’s plans for podcasting have been more apparent. In October 2021, Bloomberg reported that YouTube was looking for someone to manage “the millions of podcasts that already exist on the site,” which a YouTube spokesperson said was true. Kai Chuk, a longtime employee, was promoted to “Podcast Lead” a few months later. Early in March 2022, Bloomberg came with another report of YouTube wanting to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to obtain video copies of popular television episodes.

Adding podcasting may seem out of place for YouTube, but this new initiative fits the platform’s larger objective of providing creators with a more comprehensive home base in order to help them maximize their audience reach.

In fact, many well-known YouTubers already have their own podcasts, which they share to the site through in-studio video clips. This means that YouTube already has a lot of audio-focused content, no matter how many podcasts there are. With audio-only options, another way to watch or listen to YouTube content, YouTube has made music more important.

The whole document was not published by Podnews, and it is unclear when it was first created or shared. It only referenced several releases that it described as coming “in 2022”. YouTube also didn’t comment on Podnews’ press release.