Google LLC is an American multinational technology corporation focused on information technology, online advertising, search engine technology, email, cloud computing, software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial intelligence (AI). It has been referred to as "the most powerful company in the world" by the BBC, and is one of the world's most valuable brands. Google's parent company Alphabet Inc. has been described as a Big Tech company. Wikipedia
Website: about.google
Owned by: Alphabet
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Latest news
- Sep 22: Far from being a friend of podcast creators, Apple and Google are making money from an ad-skipping podcast app, Podnews can reveal today. The app, called Podtastic, takes podcasts and automatically skips the ads on-device, charging $9.99 a month - none of which goes to creators, but up to 30% goes direct to Google and Apple's own app stores. Automatically skipping the ads in this way means that advertising won't work, and creators will see lower renewals and unhappier advertisers; but because the skipping takes place on-device, US case law suggests that the behaviour of the app could be considered legal, if clearly unethical.
- Sep 21: Mediastream has lost its IAB Podcast Measurement Guidelines compliance. It was last certified in June 2024, and was removed from the list of companies on Thursday. The company, based in Chile, still claims it's compliant on its website, which also promotes that it can get your show listed in Google Podcasts.
- Aug 6: It does beg the question: what is Apple Podcasts doing about Roku and Android TV, which dominate the connected TV world? Apple Podcasts on an Apple TV will get access to video podcasting in the next few months - but isn't available at all from a Google TV streamer or a Roku device.
- Jul 22: In January, we reported on PodcastAdBlock, a podcast tool that removed ads from podcasts, selling ad-free copies of shows. It was written by developer, "adventurer and entrepreneur" Ben Bowler, who, by May, had pulled the tool down. Today, we discover, he's back - with Podtastic, a podcast app that skips the ads for $2.99 a month (none of which goes back to the creators, but up to 30% of that money will go to Apple or Google in app store fees).
- Jul 17: The UK government has announced plans to ensure that UK-licenced radio stations must be available on smart speakers operated by Alexa, Google and Siri. A consultation has launched today. It doesn't impact podcasting directly: podcasts are also available through these services. The news has been welcomed by commercial radio trade body Radiocentre.
Data credits: Podnews newsletter, Wikipedia