YouTube to Probably Get a Podcast Homepage with Audio Ads

Still think YouTube is about videos only? Forget it. After YouTube Music, it’s about audio as well. And now it goes even further with introducing a dedicated podcast homepage. At least, this is suggested by a 84-page document that leaked recently, which contains a section covering a potential podcast section on YouTube.

The document in question was published by Podnews (and its origin is not exposed, which is logically with documents like this). Though the resource didn’t publish its full contents, the pages it did share tell that YouTube is bringing in the podcast experience, just like Apple and Twitter recently did. The new section will probably be embedded into the mobile app. In the web version, its potential address is http://youtube.com/podcasts.

The appearance of the podcast home page will mirror the main page of the service itself; instead of videos, though, it will feature podcasts. The structure will remain the same, including even ads. It’s not clear yet whether the generic YouTube Premium subscription will remove ads in the podcasts section as well. The ads (logically) are expected to be in audio format too.

Merging the two types of experience is not a new idea. Recently, YouTube, according to reports by Bloomberg, expressed its interest in making video versions of podcasts. It even offered successful podcasters impressive grants for creating video versions of established podcasts which are already household names. This interest, as we see from this palatable document, may look just the opposite. The designated result, though, is the same: YouTube should enter the podcast market and become a part of it.

Would you like to see (or rather hear) podcasts on YouTube? Would you prefer traditional audio-only podcasts or video versions of popular series? Tell us what you think in the comments!