Episode Summaries are going away

On February 7, 2023, we'll remove the ability to add Episode Summaries in the Episode Editor. Here's why.

Quick summary of what's happening:

• Most podcast hosting platforms are dropping Episode Summaries, and we're doing the same.

• We're transitioning to using just Full Show Notes instead.

• Your existing Episode Summaries will remain in your feed unless you change them.

Background:

For years, Apple Podcasts has displayed both Episode Summaries and Full Show Notes in their app. Other apps (like Overcast) used the same format.

However, new podcast apps took a different approach.

When viewing a list of a show's episodes in the player:

• Spotify displays a truncated version of the Full Show Notes

• Google doesn't display Episode Summaries or Full Show Notes

• Apple Podcasts displays Episode Summaries

Because of this, podcast hosting platforms have gradually been removing the ability to add Episode Summaries in favor of only having Full Show Notes.

If Episode Summary isn't present in Apple Podcasts, it will just show a truncated version of the Full Show Notes (similar to Spotify).

In fact, Apple has already removed "Episode Summaries" when viewing an individual episode (similar to Spotify):

What's happening on Transistor:

On February 7, we'll be removing the Episode Summary field from Transistor's episode editor:

Important notes:

• Your existing Episode Summaries will remain in your feed (unless you remove them).

• Your existing Episode Summaries continue to be displayed on your podcast website.

Until Feb 7, you should get in the habit of putting your Episode Summary at the beginning of Full Show Notes:

Moving forward, whatever text you put at the top of your show notes will appear in the summaries that Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Overcast, and other listening apps display. 👍

If you have questions please contact us via the Live Chat widget.