Facebook is getting its hands off the podcast business barely a year after it had got into it. In fact, the company is pulling itself back from all of its audio ventures, which include Soundbites and the general audio hub as well, Bloomberg reported. Creators won’t be allowed to add new podcasts from this week onwards while all of the existing podcasts will be removed on June 3. Soundbites and hub will also be facing a similar fate in the coming weeks while Live Audio Rooms will merge into Facebook Live. That way, users will have the option to go live with just an audio feed or both audio and video.

Meta, the Facebook parent company said the move is being done to ensure the company is able to concentrate on its core areas which it hopes will provide for the ‘most meaningful experiences.’ The company didn’t specifically mention what those were but seems to be more engrossed with the main Facebook feed and Instagram Reels at the moment, the latter being projected as the company’s answer to TikTok. Further, there is the metaverse that the company is engaged in at the moment, fine-tuning its AR and VR offerings.

Also, no matter how lucrative the podcast business might sound, the fact is the segment has already started to become quite crowded, enough for even big-name companies like Facebook to feel suffocated. There is Spotify that has already made a mark in the segment while Amazon is also up there, more so with its recent acquisition of the podcast network Wondery. Apple happens to be another strong player in the segment. Plus, there is also Clubhouse that almost every company wanted to copy. All of this meant there were little chances of Facebook having a distinct presence in the segment even with all the resources it can pool in.

So, as things stand at the moment, there is going to be one less podcast player soon and nobody seems to be too bothered as well.

The post Facebook confirms exit from podcast business by June 3rd first appeared on Good e-Reader.