Summary YouTube Music is introducing a new auto-download feature for podcasts to allow offline enjoyment of a show’s latest episodes.
Users can enable the auto-download feature on a per-show and per-device basis, but there is no auto-removal setting for completed episodes.
The new functionality is available on YouTube Music version 6.21, though it’s an account-based rollout, so all users might not see it right away.
In today’s media-driven world, our hunger for new content is insatiable. You can see this most clearly in the podcast arena, where popularity continues to surge and new features are constantly being added to the various platforms where podcasts are available. Now, there’s a buzz around some new developments from YouTube Music, which recently became Google’s de facto home for podcast content.
Just as the dust began to settle on the news that Google Podcasts is slated for discontinuation in 2024, YouTube Music is stepping up its game by introducing a new auto-download feature for podcasts. As reported by 9to5Google, this comes right after Google’s announcement that YouTube Music will become its primary podcast hub.
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Source: 9to5Google
Users can now visit a podcast’s show page and tap the settings gear icon to the left of the Add to Library button — if you still see a three-dot overflow menu to the right of this button, you have the old UI. Following this, the Turn on auto-downloads option will pop up, and enabling it will cause YouTube Music to always download the latest episode for offline enjoyment. A notable omission, however, is the absence of an auto-removal setting, which was present in Google Podcasts and allowed users to specify when completed episodes should be removed.
For those wondering about which versions support this, it was spotted in YouTube Music 6.21, which is the latest non-beta you can find on the Play Store. However, it appears to be an account-based change in the process of rolling out, so updating may or may not grant you access to automatic podcast downloads.
The feature isn’t without its limitations, however. For one, you need to enable it on a per-show and per-device basis, contrasting the broader Auto Downloading feature available on Google Podcasts. It should also be noted that YouTube Music only supports podcasts uploaded directly to YouTube, but there is anticipation that users will soon be able to subscribe to podcasts via RSS feeds. Such a move would further align YouTube Music with a traditional podcast listening experience, ensuring it isn’t just catering to video versions of podcasts.
With a significant percentage of weekly podcast users in the US claiming YouTube as their preferred service, it’s evident that Google Podcasts lagged behind in the race. Hence, amalgamating the audio and video podcast realms within YouTube Music seems a logical evolution. However, Google’s journey with content services hasn’t always been smooth sailing. Many might recall the rocky transition from Google Play Music to YouTube Music. But the tech giant aims to make the upcoming shift seamless, promising tools and guidelines to ensure a hassle-free migration for Google Podcasts users to YouTube Music.