Google announced back in October that it’d be adding podcasts to Google Play, but it never said when the feature would launch, saying only that it’d share month “in the coming months.” According to NPR, the launch could finally come next week.
NPR today sent an email to its members that says that “Google will launch podcasts on Android and other platforms next Monday, April 18, inside of Google Play Music, a streaming service similar to Apple Music.” The email goes on to say that the info is embargoed and shouldn’t be shared until Monday. NPR adds that it “has worked with Google to ensure that public radio is represented in the Google Play environment.
Google has never officially announced a launch date for podcasts in Google Play, so this April 18 date is very much unconfirmed right now. Plus, this wouldn’t be the first time that a well-known broadcaster incorrectly predicted Google Play’s launch of podcasts, as Bill Simmons previously said that podcasts would hit Google Play in February.
Whenever podcasts do hit Google Play, it’ll be good for podcasting as a whole as it’ll give all Android users easy access to podcasts and could expose non-podcast listeners to the medium. Do you listen to podcasts? Will you check out podcasts in Google Play whenever they finally launch?
