Facebook will be launching their podcast product on June 22nd and will add a feature later on that will allow listeners to create clips from different shows.
Based on an email sent to podcast page owners and viewed by The Verge, show hosts can now link their shows’s RSS feed up to Facebook. Facebook will then automatically generate News Feed posts for all episodes published moving forward. The episodes will then show up on a “podcasts” tab (which is not live yet).
Podnews first reported the date of release earlier this month and Facebook themselves have confirmed with The Verge that a limited number of page owners would have access. Emails are still being sent to additional page owners which suggests that the rollout will be wider than anticipated.
Podcasters who publish on this new platform will be opting into Facebook’s podcast terms of service. It seems to be a standard agreement but it does not have clear limits on what Facebook can do with the podcasts distributed on its platform. It grants Facebook the rights to make derivative works, which may be necessary for distributing shows in certain formats, but also might alarm podcasters who are protective over their IP.
Podcasters can also toggle the option to enable clips which will be created by listeners and will last up to one minute in length. Facebook feels that this might help increase engagement. Short-form clips have been a key way for Twitch streamers to share moments from their lengthy streams, and Facebook seems to hope the same idea can apply to podcasts.
By introducing podcasts, Facebook is hoping that podcasters already use the platform to promote their shows and directly promoting on the platform will help them accomplish those goals and also give people a reason to not leave the Facebook app. It’s also possible Facebook sees potential in podcast advertising, which Spotify has focused its efforts on as it launches exclusive shows and its own ad network.
