Today marks the end for the fourth most popular podcasting app in the United States: Google Podcasts. This much loved app comes to an end at a time when it dominates many other apps and is the fourth most popular podcasting app after Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and iHeartRadio, according to a recent report.
This raises the question about YouTube TV, the fourth most popular product in its market.
Google has a long history of shutting down popular services that—in some cases—dominate their market. One of the most well-known victims of this is Google Reader, an RSS reader that dominated RSS programs but was shut down in 2013.
Why is Google shutting down Google Podcasts, and why is YouTube TV different? Let’s dive into why YouTube TV is different. YouTube TV has a clear path to becoming profitable for Google unlike other services like Google Podcasts.
Even though YouTube TV has lost a massive amount of money since it launched, there is a path for it to become profitable in the next few years.
MoffettNathanson, a well-respected research group, has released a report saying YouTube TV is on track to add 1.5 million new subscribers per year. MoffettNathanson expects YouTube TV to become the largest provider of live TV in the United States in a new report by NextTV. This would make YouTube TV larger than Comcast, Spectrum, DIRECTV, and DISH.
YouTube TV is expected to break even in 2024, and it will reach $600 million in net income in 2026, according to the MoffettNathanson report.
Google typically kills products it sees as unprofitable with no path to make them profitable. Even a low-cost project like Google Reader costs money and for Google if you are not making money or have a path to become profitable your time is limited.
Because of this it is unlikely that YouTube TV will suffer the same fate as popular apps like Google Podcast and Google Reader.
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