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Technology News YouTube launches a dedicated podcasts homepage for US users Originally published by Sarah Perez on August 22, 2022 Earlier this year, reports emerged that YouTube would soon add a dedicated podcasts homepage — a signal the company was getting more serious about its investments in podcasts and the potential ad revenue they could deliver. Today, YouTube confirmed to TechCrunch the new podcasts destination is now live for U.S. users, Dedicated to Podcasters..............................1 after the URL was discovered to be live ahead of any formal announcement. According to a report by 9to5Google, the dedicated podcast page Election Misinformation................................2 YouTube.com/podcasts went live sometime last month and is now linked, at least for some users, on YouTube’s existing Explore page alongside other top destinations like Gaming, Sports, Learning, ACM Events Calendar ................................4 Fashion and others. It did not appear in the website’s sidebar navigation, however. Reached for comment, YouTube told TechCrucnh the URL is not globally available at this time. Top 5 Free Media Sources...........................5 “The podcast destination page on YouTube helps users explore new and popular podcast episodes, shows and creators, as well as recommend podcast content,” said YouTube spokesperson, Paul Pennigton. “It’s currently available in the U.S. only.” YouTube declined to answer further questions about the company’s plans for podcasts in general or the destination itself — hinting that a broader announcement was still to come. (It’s possible this will be one of the announcements planned for a YouTube creator event scheduled for next month, if we had to guess.) Before today, there were already a number of hints that YouTube was getting more serious about podcasts — particularly after Spotify entered the space with its support for video podcasts. Last year, YouTube hired a podcast executive, Kai Chuk, to lead its efforts in the space and has been offering cash to popular podcasters to film their shows, reports said. This March, a site called Podnews leaked an 84page presentation that detailed YouTube’s podcast roadmap. In the document, YouTube revealed it had plans to pilot the feature by ingesting RSS feeds. It also mentioned a new URL, YouTube.com/podcasts, but the link didn’t work at the time. The document also helps to clarify some of YouTube’s thinking around podcasts, as it suggested YouTube had plans to feature audio ads sold by Google and other partners. This could present a potential new revenue stream for the tech giant at a time when the younger generation has shifted their search behavior from Google to other platforms, like TikTok. The document said YouTube planned to roll out audio-first metrics to creators and integrate YouTube data into podcast measurement platforms, including Nielsen, Chartable and Podtrac, as well. The addition of a top-level landing page for podcasts is a fairly significant move for the company.
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https://techcrunch.com/2022/08/22/youtube-launches-a-dedicated-podcasts-homepage-for-u-s-users/