YouTube is taking up the mantle of being (inadvertently) the most used podcasting platform, with a dedicated Podcasts page. However, with the lines between podcasts and YouTube becoming blurred, any steps the company takes to unify the experience for listeners may present challenges to competitors Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
The page is not as polished as those on competing podcast platforms, but it might not be that big of a deal. A study by Cumulus in May found YouTube was already beating out Apple Podcasts and Spotify thanks to the growth of video podcasts and their ease of use, so perhaps sticking with the formats audiences are already familiar with is the smart thing to do.