YouTube has grown into the biggest podcast platform on the planet. Now its leader, Kai Chuk, is departing the company.
Chuk has overseen its podcast strategy since 2021. Under his direction, the platform eclipsed Spotify and Apple as the most widely used podcast platform. Originally joining the company in 2012, Kai Chuk served as a media partnerships manager before taking the role of Director of Podcasting, the first person to hold the title, at YouTube.
“YouTube is now the most frequently used service for listening to podcasts in the US, following years of investments to improve the podcast experience on YouTube,” YouTube said in a statement to Tubefilter. “To better serve podcasters on YouTube, we’re bringing the Podcast Partnerships team together with the News and Civics Partnerships teams. We’re grateful to Kai Chuk for all his contributions over the years.”
Tim Katz currently serves as the leader of the company’s News and Civics Partnerships unit.
The change in leadership comes as the platform is in the midst of developing a feature that would allow for host-read ads to be inserted within YouTube videos dynamically, similar to other platforms like Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
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