Facebook might launch its own podcasts platform as soon as next week: Report

Facebook may roll out its podcast next week on 22 June. This podcast is likely to allow listeners to create clips from their favourite shows. Facebook has reportedly sent emails to creators about a new podcast page that will be live next week.  Podnews reported the date initially. The email suggests that users can stream podcasts directly on Facebook pages or in a new “Podcasts” tab, which is not yet live. The creators can set up an RSS feed to a Facebook podcast. On approval, new episodes will be automatically updated and shown for the listeners to stream. [caption id=“attachment_9264651” align=“alignnone” width=“1280”] Alongside distribution, podcast creators can decide whether to enable clips, which, as per the company, will be created by listeners, lasting up to one minute in length.[/caption] “Facebook will be the place where people can enjoy, discuss, and share the podcasts they love with each other,” the company’s email said. Facebook confirmed with The Verge earlier this month that its podcast platform will allow only a limited number of page owners to access it. However, the social media giant is still sending out emails to more page owners, suggesting a wider rollout than expected. Creators, who publish their content on the podcast, will opt for the giant’s terms of service, a relatively standard agreement with just vague information on what Facebook can do with the podcasts distributed on its platform. Alongside distribution, podcast creators can decide whether to enable clips, which, as per the company, will be created by listeners, lasting up to one minute in length to “help increase visibility and engagement.” Facebook hopes that the idea of short-form clips to attract streamers to share moments from lengthy streams can be applied to podcasts. As the company plans to venture into audio streams, CEO Mark Zuckerberg, on Wednesday, hosted the first Live Audio Room in the US. The company also announced plans for an in-News Feed live with a feature called Soundbites, in April. Soundbites aims to give users a “sound studio in your pocket” allowing them to create short, shareable clips.