Meta’s Threads Makes a Play for Podcasters and Their Rabid Fans

Meta Platforms Inc.’s Threads will launch podcast previews, or the ability to upload snippets of shows that play directly in user feeds, as part of a broader effort to encourage podcasters and their fans to spend more time on the social network, according to a person familiar with the plans.

Threads already launched another podcast-oriented feature in recent months — the ability to link to a show on a profile and have it open in Apple Podcasts, iHeart or Spotify — and the company hopes that luring podcasters could foster community around their shows. If podcasters engage with the service, it could make Threads more compelling to listeners and viewers as a place to gather virtually to discuss episodes, said Connor Hayes, head of Threads.