Facebook is shutting down its podcast platform

Meta has announced that just one year after its launch, Facebook is abruptly shutting down its podcasts and Soundbites platform. 

Confirmed in a new report by Bloomberg, Meta will be slowly shutting down Facebook’s podcasting and Soundbites section over the coming weeks until the 3rd of June, when the section will be shut down and removed from the platform entirely. 

According to a spokesperson for Meta, this surprising move is part of a broad re-evaluation of Facebook’s audio offerings that clearly haven’t been as successful as the company had hoped. Only the company’s Live Audio Rooms feature will live on as part of Facebook’s wider live-streaming suite of tools. 

In a statement given to The Verge, Facebook spokesperson Adelaide Coronado stated that the bold changes being made would “simplify” the platform’s audio offerings.

“After a year of learning and iterating on audio-first experiences, we’ve decided to simplify our suite of audio tools on Facebook. […] We’re constantly evaluating the features we offer so we can focus on the most meaningful experiences.”

While Meta‘s push into podcasting may have failed, other companies such as Spotify and YouTube have seen great success from increased investment into podcasts and their hosts throughout the past few years. 

Most recently, Spotify announced that it was expanding into video podcasts in the United States, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, and the UK.