Google gets back into podcast distribution with Google Play Music Podcasts

If you haven’t heard, podcasts are officially a thing.

The launch of podcasts on Google Play is a nice little bonus for Android users who’ll finally have a native means of tuning into their favourite shows without relying on third-party apps.

Currently, podcasters are able to upload to the Google Play hub, but none are available for playback just yet.

The service is touting features similar to Google Play Music’s existing auto curation features where Google will serve up podcasts based on your mood, want to learn, laugh or get lost in a story the new service will select the correct podcast for your needs. President Barack Obama’s June appearance on WTF with Marc Maron also helped boost podcasts’ popularity.

As ArsTechnica points out, this isn’t Google’s first dalliance with a podcasting app; it offered a simple, pre-Play Store app called Listen that pulled podcasts from an RSS feed. “It makes us a more complete concierge”.

That same study found that 78% of iOS podcast listening is on Apple’s default Podcasts app, so Google’s logic becomes even clearer still. “We thought that would be awesome, so we plan to start offering podcasts on Google Play Music, giving podcasters access to millions of new listeners on Android phones and tablets”. Starting now, podcasters be able to add their own shows to the index, like with the iTunes podcast directory. Companies like 5by5, Nerdist, This Week in Tech, Feral Audio, HowStuffWorks, HBO and Public Radio worldwide have all been working with Google, as have a dozen others.