Rowena, thanks. This would be a very good feature enhancement and suspect many other users would be interested in this capability.

Hi @mjstocker, thank you for your response and for providing additional information about your concern. We appreciate your feedback. As per checking, you can play podcasts on the Spotify app to your Sonos speakers. However, streaming Spotify podcasts is not yet available in the Sonos app. What I can do is to submit this as a feature request to our engineering team so they can take a look. We don’t have information to share with you but you can check our announcements for any feature releases and updates.  Please do not hesitate to reach out if you have further questions, additional feature requests, or concerns. We are always happy to help out.

Hi Rowena

Thanks for your reply. The specific issue is that the podcast I want to listen to is ONLY available on Spotify (previously was available via Stitcher) and Sonos app (on iPhone and laptop) does not find this via search. However, if I use Spotify app search, I can find the podcast and play it on iPhone. Then if I try to switch playback to Sonos (which works fine for music tracks), then all Sonos devices greyed out with message “Can’t play this right now”. I can access other podcasts fine. This makes me think that Sonos does NOT support playback of Spotify podcasts - is this correct or is this a different issue ? Thanks

Or perhaps SONOS should update their commercial agreement with Spotify to include Podcasts. Spotify podcasts not being available on SONOS except via Spotify app, sounds like a commercial decision, not a technical one.

I’m trying to add a spotify podcast right now but its not working.  Based on this comment, there’s a workaround by using the spotify app instead of the sonos app?  Seems like this should be something that just works in sonos.

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Other-Podcasts-Partners-etc/Cannot-Play-Podcasts-on-Sonos/td-p/5095613

I've posted a link to this thread on a related Spotify thread... We shall see what happens...

It’s been over a year since this thread was started and still no action from Spotify. I chatted with a support tech today who said he would submit this as an upgrade request. If you’re a paid Spotify member, please contact their support and make the same request.
https://support.spotify.com/us/contact-spotify-support/

In case there is still some belief that this is not a Spotify problem, go here:

https://sonos-pmap.ws.sonos.com/spotify_pmap.24.xml

This is the Spotify metadata file, even if you can’t read XML, go look at the SearchCategories section, and you will see this:

Note: no Podcast entry. This is either a bug in Spotify, or a deliberate decision by them.

However, if you look at the end of the file, at the QuickSkips section, you will see that there is podcast support for jumping forward/backward 15 seconds. Curious. I am going to guess that someone accidentally deleted the podcasts entry in the SearchCategories section.

Suggest someone who wants this feature sends this post to Spotify and tell them to fix it. This is as clear a bug report as could be presented to them.

That list (of search categories) is supplied by each music service. The app just displays it, it comes from the service (except in the case of local library). In your case either the service changed or you are looking at a different service.

Note that Sonos doesn’t decide what content is provided by any service other than HD Radio. Spotify is in control over what is provided to Sonos by the Spotify service. If you find something you’d like to be on the Sonos stream, Spotify should be where you are lodging your request, not Sonos. 

This still seems to be a Spotify issue and not one that is getting fixed. There is an enhancement topic - getting some more votes to raise its profile might help. Vote here

https://community.spotify.com/t5/Live-Ideas/All-Platforms-Connect-re-categorise-podcasts-as-AUDIO-so-they/idc-p/5167439#M215037

Again, Sonos has no control over what content Spotify presents on the server that the Sonos system connects to. That is completely in Spotify’s hands. If you want there to be additional content, such as Spotify’s podcasts, you need to contact Spotify. To my knowledge, they don’t read these forums. 

Added tunein and now i can find my favorite podcast via the sonos app. I hope good karma finds you, thanks again.

Sticher and TuneIn are the only music services I have on Sonos that support a search category of podcast. Spotify does not.

Because Spotify chose not to include podcasts as a category in their SMAPI service. Search categories are exposed via this API: https://developer.sonos.com/reference/sonos-music-api/search/#Sample-presentation-map-configuration

I used to have a tab at the top of my sonos app called podcasts. Right along side “artists” “songs” “genre” “playlist” etc. But randomly a few weeks ago this tab was removed. Guessing it was an update thats the result of some legal squabbling or something but man is it suuuuper annoying to have to open my spotify app and send to my sonos speaker. The controls within spotify dont work great for the sonos speaker and i end up then having to go back to the sonos app to control the sound and fast forward etc. 

please fix the app back to the way it was! Or at least let us know that the feature was removed and why...

The extent that Sonos is involved in the stream is that they point to someone else’s servers, and play what is presented to them by that server. 

Very similar issue with not being able to play podcasts out of spotify through Sonos.  I found by using Pocket Casts (free on IOS) I could star individual podcasts or subscribe a full series, then link link the Pocket Cast service playback though Sonos direct removing spotify from the equation.

I could then play direct through Sonos. Appreciate if Spotify is the only place it is available this will not help but Pocket Casts is pretty comprehensive (in this case it had the podcasts which were not available on Sticher).

Knulpuk

I agree. Unfortunately, it has to happen on the Spotify side of things, Sonos has no ability to change what Spotify’s servers expose to the Sonos connection/controller. All Sonos can do is point their service at the server location provided by Spotify, and show you what that server  responds with. 

I’d assume someone could, although I’m not sure Sonos would choose to carry it….
 

But the key is, with the rare exception of some Sonos Radio content, none of the data being streamed is held on Sonos servers, so Sonos has no ability to control what data is being fed. All the system does is point to content on other people’s servers. 

Interesting read.  I couldn't find any reference to content.  Looks like someone could set up a service just replaying  speeches and anthems from the Third Reich and Sonos would be agnostic to the content. 

Spotify’s inaction to fix issues with Sonos could be influenced by their attempt of getting into the connected speaker market. I highly doubt they will convert many Sonos users with their attempt at speakers. A physical button on a smart speaker is hardly a ground breaking technological development, I disable the buttons on all of the Sonos speakers since the app is more practical. 

https://www.tellerreport.com/tech/2021-10-20-ikea-develops-the-first-connected-speaker-with-the-spotify-tap-button.SypfN3pSK.html

As far as I’m aware, it’s all detailed on the Sonos partners page, but I haven’t re-read that data in years.

My belief is that Sonos confirms that the implementation works within the Sonos application, and the server responds with data both audio and search data. But they don’t have control over what is presented by that server, since they don’t own that server. They just point the Sonos “client” to it. 

A bit like Facebook accepting no responsibility for what appears on their service, then? 

What criteria does Sonos apply when making a service available? 

This is completely under the control of Spotify, Sonos has zero input as to what Spotify makes available through the connection. 

Checking the Spotify thread shows no progress on this issue.   I find the Spotify resource on Sonos a real mess - reams of junk material to to scroll through to get to my content at the bottom of the page (... And still no podcasts!). 

It is possible by ways and means as this pic shows: