Google once had a dedicated podcast app called Google Listen. It was quietly killed off years ago because not enough people were using it. Fast forward to 2015 and podcasting is huge business thanks to advertisements and crowd funding sources like Patreon. Google once again is getting into podcast support, but this time they are not making a new app, they are including it into Google Play Music.
Google is currently securing content deals before they officially launch to the public. HBO, 5by5, Dan Carlin, Dave Ramsey, Earwolf, Feral Audio, Gimlet Media, HowStuffWorks, Nerdist, Slate and many other networks are uploading their back catalog of podcasts right now.
If you self-publish or record podcasts independently there is now a public portal that you can use to submit your audio files and make a profile. Keep in mind its you can only submit your shows if you live in the US right now.
Hopefully Google will not decimate they few good podcast apps out there, such as Pocket Casts, Beyond Pod, or DoggCatcher .
Michael Kozlowski is the editor-in-chief at Good e-Reader and has written about audiobooks and e-readers for the past fifteen years. Newspapers and websites such as the CBC, CNET, Engadget, Huffington Post and the New York Times have picked up his articles. He Lives in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
