According to the latest information, Facebook is shutting down its podcast service. next June 3. This is almost a year after its release. In April of this year, information already appeared that the Meta social network would reduce its investments in this area.

Bloomberg has confirmed that Meta will no longer allow new podcasts to be added to the service starting this week, and that existing podcasts will be completely removed from the social network from June 3rd. The Audio Center and Soundbites will also be closed in the coming weeks. In the case of Live Audio Rooms, they will be included in Facebook Live.

A Meta spokesperson told Bloomberg that the move would allow the company to focus on “more meaningful experiences.” In a note sent to its partners, Facebook said that it does not intend to warn users that podcasts will no longer be available – the social network will leave the decision to inform users or not to the editors.

Starting this week, Meta will no longer allow new podcasts to be added to the service.
From June 3, existing podcasts will be completely removed from the social network.
(Disclosure/Facebook)

The podcast market has grown tremendously in recent years. Spotify, for example, has licensed popular shows to its platform and bought related companies. Amazon also bought podcast company Wondery early last year, while audio platform Clubhouse received good reviews in the market and other companies decided to copy its product. Therefore, Facebook’s entry into this market was just a matter of time, but it did not work out very well for Mark Zuckerberg’s social network.

Since Meta was focusing more on the main Facebook feed and Instagram reels, many took this as a sign that the company was losing interest in the podcast market. The company’s name change and its increased focus on things like virtual reality and augmented reality for its metaverse have also reinforced this.

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Source: Bloomberg, 9to5Mac, Engadget.