YouTube is embracing its presumption arsenic the (unintentional) most-used podcast level by launching a dedicated podcast page. As the lines between podcasting and YouTube blur, immoderate measurement the institution takes toward consolidating listening could airs a situation for competitors Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

The leafage debuted successful precocious July and is inactive successful the rollout process, according to 9to5Google. It tin beryllium accessed lone successful the US astatine youtube.com/podcasts oregon done the Explore page (in-app oregon browser), wherever determination is simply a caller podcast tab. The caller leafage features trending shows and channels that already person millions of subscribers, similar The H3 Podcast oregon Logan Paul’s podcast, but different does not grounds a ton of curation.

The leafage is not astir arsenic blase arsenic rival podcast platforms, but that whitethorn not substance each that much. A study by Cumulus successful May recovered that YouTube is already outperforming Apple Podcasts and Spotify, acknowledgment to the emergence of video podcasts and easiness of use, truthful possibly it is smarter to instrumentality to the format audiences already know.

YouTube’s beingness successful the podcasting abstraction happened much by osmosis than arsenic a deliberate strategy. Apple was the archetypal tech elephantine to participate the space, launching podcasts successful 2005. Spotify started aggressively pursuing podcasting successful 2019 with workplace and tech acquisitions and blockbuster deals with stars similar Joe Rogan and Alex Cooper. Meanwhile, podcasts connected YouTube conscionable benignant of happened due to the fact that everything ends up connected YouTube 1 mode oregon another.

Podcasting is inactive tiny potatoes for YouTube. The streamer brought successful $28.8 cardinal for its genitor company, Google, successful 2021. Meanwhile, the full podcast manufacture conscionable passed $1 cardinal past year, according to a survey by the Interactive Advertising Bureau. YouTube doesn’t truly request to ain podcasting, but the leafage is an denotation that the institution whitethorn enactment much resources into it anyway. The institution did not instantly respond to petition for remark connected further podcast initiatives.