In February, Google announced that it would bring podcasts toYouTube Music, and it looks like they’re now rolling out. Many users report that they’re starting to see podcasts on YouTube Music’s home screen and in its search panel, and we can confirm as much on one of our team member’s accounts.
For some people, podcasts appear as suggestions right on the home screen, but if you don’t see any there, you can try your luck by searching for a podcast of your choice. Keep in mind that podcasts are only available in the US for now, so if you’re in another country, your mileage may vary.
As for the way that podcasts behave on YouTube Music, the interface is pretty similar to regular music. Inscreenshots shared on Reddit(via9to5Google), you’re able to see the now playing section and a few more parts of the interface. It has the familiar toggle at the top that lets you switch between the audio and video version of the content you’re consuming, with the thumbnail or cover art dominating the middle of the screen. Below that, there’s the title and podcaster along with thumbs up and down buttons and the usual scrubbing bar. Only the buttons next to the play/pause option are slightly different. Rather than skip forward or backward, you get 10 seconds rewind and 30 seconds fast forward along with a sleep timer and a playback speed selector.
In the search interface and in your library, you can now filter for podcasts. This gives you a quick point to jump back into whatever you were listening to before. Like on Spotify, it’s possible to mix and match podcast content with music.
At the same time, the company confirmed that its standalone Google Podcasts service is here to stay. However, Google recently removed direct links to Google Podcasts from its search results, which makes us question its commitment to the service.
