Apple Podcasts Losing Market Share to YouTube and Spotify

[Spaceboy88]

I was an Overcast user for years but actually went back to Apple Podcasts about a year ago and have been very happy.

As great as Overcast is, having access to Apple Podcasts in many areas outside of the phone (native support in my car, Amazon Echo devices), and even in Apple hardware like Apple TV makes it much more versatile for me. They also improved a lot of the horrible and confusing UX from the older version. While it's far from perfect, I'm happy to see more attention paid to it over the past year, with podcast transcripts (killer feature), the just-launched web player, and the precise location sharing in iOS 18.

 

[jdawgnoonan]

I will only use podcast apps listed on this index: https://podcastindex.org/apps . I do not intend to ever again use a podcasting system where the podcast feeds have a corporate gatekeeper. I do not need my corporate overlords protecting me from content. Spotify? Google? Apple? I am sure that they are functional systems with decent UIs. But I do not need thought police in my life.

 

[rkRusty]

Podcast clips get engagement as video shorts on Instagram and TikTok.
Viewers are then driven to YouTube to watch the whole episode, as YouTube is still video streaming king.

Whether that's your preference or not, that is the direction podcasts are heading.

 

[icwhatudidthere]

Didn't even know YouTube focuses on podcasts. Is there like a YouTube Podcast app or do people just hit play on a video podcast?

It's the YouTube Music app but it's the same video as on YouTube. Some podcasts don't even show up as a result.

 

[CEmajr]

YouTube is where the money is and more and more people want to see video these days over just audio. Plus full video podcasts can be clipped for additional revenue and engagement to be reposted across TikTok, instagram, YouTube. One thing Apple had going for it back in the day was that mobile data wasn’t good enough for this level of video streaming like it is now.

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Podcast clips get engagement as video shorts on Instagram and TikTok.
Viewers are then driven to YouTube to watch the whole episode, as YouTube is still video streaming king.

Whether that's your preference or not, that is the direction podcasts are heading.

The majority of people I know that listen to podcasts listen while doing other things, cleaning, gardening, working, driving, running, walking, working out, etc. Video podcasts are never going to be a thing for people in such circumstances.

I just don't see the majority of the podcast market moving to a sit-down and watch style of delivery.

 

[satchmo]

When Apple barely touches its own apps, I cant say I’m shocked people using better apps in place to get podcast

Frankly, I wonder if Apple is spreading itself too thin.

Re-focus on quality software and hardware that has purpose and usability.

New leadership who care more about product and user experience over profits.

 

[LukeHarrison]

You'd have to wrestle Pocket Casts from my cold, dead hands before I'd even think about using Apple's Podcast app again in all honesty.

 

[nt5672]

The Apple Podcasts app has always been confusing to use. They need to fix the UX issues at minimum. I'm surprised it ever had significant market share given how much better other apps are like Overcast and Pocket Casts. They must have been relying on the "default app install" momentum for a long time.

Isn't a "video podcast" just a "video" at that point? Podcasts are things you want to listen to while doing other things like driving or chores. Once you're sitting down to watch a video, you're just watching a show at that point.

Apple has completely forgotten about usability in the pursuit of trying to be the leader in defining modern minimalistic apps. Again, without tech leadership Apple has floundered. And the legacy of Ive lives one.

 

[citysnaps]

Holy smokes! What's next? More people watching television over listening to radio?

 

[WarmWinterHat]

Holy smokes! What's next? More people watching television over listening to the radio?

In the car, while running, cleaning, doing dishes, working out, walking the dog?.. probably not.

 

[nburwell]

I have never been a fan/user of Apple’s podcast app. I’ve used Castro, Overcast and now Pocket Casts over the years. I have noticed improvement in Apple’s own app, but it’s still not quite good enough for me to make the full-time switch from Pocket Casts.

I don’t know how people can use Spotify to listen to podcasts. I briefly tried and overall was not a fan at all (Even moved to Apple Music from Spotify for music streaming).

 

[icwhatudidthere]

Apple has completely forgotten about usability in the pursuit of trying to be the leader in defining modern minimalistic apps. Again, without tech leadership Apple has floundered. And the legacy of Ive lives one.

It looks like Eddy Cue is in charge of Apple Podcasts. Pretty much everything he touches goes to sh*t.

 

[Kirkster]

Wow 100% forgot about the Podcasts app. Can I remove it?

I don’t think I have ever opened it. Just don’t personally see the allure of podcasts.

 

[cateye]

This is such a weird, Apple-blogsphere conceit to pay attention to. The subtext is always that somehow this is important, that Apple should care more, than people should "want" to use the Apple option, because Apple.

The reality is always more complicated as people will base their choices on a host of factors, not just some spooky brand fealty. Only here in the bubble is that somehow the outlier idea.

 

[Rogifan]

What do you mean by “Apple Podcasts” and “platform”? Is it Apple’s app? I listen to podcasts every day on my iPhone but I’ve never used Apple’s app. I use a 3rd party app.

 

[Heelpir8]

As others have mentioned isnt the point of a podcast that is audio, so you can do other things while listening? Never saw the appeal of watching people talk to each other when their words are the only important thing.

A large part of person to person communication is nonverbal. Body language and facial expressions can only be seen. I think it adds to the experience when observing discussions.

 

[cocky jeremy]

It's all I've ever used, or even tried. Works fine for me, so whatever.

 

[Algr]

Apple has a nasty habit of inventing innovative things... and then just losing interest and neglecting them, leaving their customers stuck in awkward situations, while other companies advance incompatible standards:

- Quicktime file compatibility used to be one of the best things about the mac.
- iTunes started out great.
- iDVD was useful and looked very professional.
- The finder has been a mess since the conversion to OS X.
- Search can fail to find things even if with exact spelling.
- I have a bunch of System 7 sound files that I can't find any way to play now.

 

[jakey rolling]

The majority of people I know that listen to podcasts listen while doing other things, cleaning, gardening, working, driving, running, walking, working out, etc. Video podcasts are never going to be a thing for people in such circumstances.

I just don't see the majority of the podcast market moving to a sit-down and watch style of delivery.

You know that you can listen to a video podcast without actually watching the video, right? You might not see it, but it is certainly trending that way, and it is pretty easy for most people to understand why.

 

[Algr]

It's all I've ever used, or even tried. Works fine for me, so whatever.

It is now very hard to get it to play the latest podcast. It starts out in the middle somewhere, and relentlessly fills your limited screen space with useless graphics so that only one or two titles are visible, and it takes forever to figure out if you are at the top of the list or not.

 

[ThunderSkunk]

If you’ll remember back a few years, they actually had video podcasts, but video production hadn’t yet become normal for everyone and their brother to participate in. Now it is, and there’s no reason why we shouldn’t have video podcasts in line with audio if the user desires. And iOS should just continue the audio playback when you shut your display off, if you just want to hear it.

But Podcasts are a perfect example of old Apple making something useful clear, concise, & user friendly, and new Apple repeatedly twisting it into convoluted conceptual “reimaginings” making it worse and worse until it’s not worth the trouble. The engagement maximization approach that makes the MBAs happy always results in a klugey mess. iTunes from 20 years ago did a better job of podcasts on a single screen than this hot mess can do having to tap all over the place while getting little useful information & hidden & scattered controls too minimalist to operate when you’re on the go. And it’s been this bad since Forstall left. +1 point for killing his cool tape animation but -1000 for everything else.

 

[headlessmike]

The majority of people I know that listen to podcasts listen while doing other things, cleaning, gardening, working, driving, running, walking, working out, etc. Video podcasts are never going to be a thing for people in such circumstances.

I just don't see the majority of the podcast market moving to a sit-down and watch style of delivery.

I agree, but more and more podcasts that just involve a few people talking are moving to YouTube as their main platform. I still listen exclusively with Apple's Podcast app (I never liked some of the popular third-party apps) but almost every podcast I listen to now has started recoding the entire show as a video as well.

 

[slomtbr]

Apple has a nasty habit of inventing innovative things... and then just losing interest and neglecting them, leaving their customers stuck in awkward situations, while other companies advance incompatible standards:

- Quicktime file compatibility used to be one of the best things about the mac.
- iTunes started out great.
- iDVD was useful and looked very professional.
- The finder has been a mess since the conversion to OS X.
- Search can fail to find things even if with exact spelling.
- I have a bunch of System 7 sound files that I can't find any way to play now.

Look for SystemSound

 

[sjsharksfan12]

I can see Apple Music and Podcasts merging within the next year. I won't like it, but it feels like an inevitability at this point.