Facebook is shutting down its podcast platform after less than a year

Illustration by Alex Castro / The Verge

Less than a year after it launched, Facebook is shutting down. As of this week, new shows will not be uploaded to the service, and the platform will close on June 3rd. The exact date of the platform's closing was not confirmed by Facebook.

It is part of a broader re-evaluation of Facebook's audio products. The company is shutting down its Soundbites and Audio hubs and integrating its Live Audio Rooms feature into its broader Facebook Live suite.

The company's audio offerings would be simplified by the changes, according to the company.

After a year of learning, we decided to simplify our suite of audio tools on Facebook.

It is not unexpected news. In 2020 and 2021, the audio market was very frothy, with established players like SiriusXM and Amazon buying up podcast networks and live audio app Clubhouse being briefly valued at $4 billion. Facebook, whose owners have never seen a tech trend they couldn't copy, got involved as well. After a year of experimentation, the company has decided that it isn't worth it.