Podcasts

Disney's video-podcast deal with iHeartMedia brings six shows to Disney+ and Hulu, giving the company lower-cost programming that can extend franchise marketing, reactivate library titles and create recurring engagement between major releases. The agreement also gives Disney more advertising inventory…

Spotify’s podcast pivot is turning creator ownership into a more profitable form of platform control. By stepping back from costly exclusives and letting creators absorb production risk, Spotify can still shape discovery, monetization, data and distribution without needing to own…

Kirby explains why video podcasts are becoming retention infrastructure for streaming as companies chase cheaper ways to drive habit, ad inventory, and creator-led loyalty. The format can pull recurring weekly hours into owned ad systems, but streamers risk killing the…

Spotify is adding more than 650 narrated magazine articles from publishers including Rolling Stone, The Atlantic, and Variety as part of its push to expand beyond music and podcasts into a broader spoken-word ecosystem. The move strengthens Spotify’s engagement strategy…

Sky News is launching a paid podcast subscription service as part of its Sky News 2030 strategy, using ad-free listening, bonus content, live events and community features to build recurring revenue around talent-driven journalism and deeper audience engagement across digital…

Apple is upgrading Apple Podcasts with native video support, seamless audio and video switching, and built in dynamic ad insertion for video episodes. The move positions Apple more directly against YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix as video podcast consumption accelerates. By…

Netflix is in talks to license video podcast content from iHeartMedia, aiming to secure exclusivity and remove episodes from YouTube. This follows a similar deal with Spotify, reinforcing a broader trend of platforms like Tubi investing in video podcasts to…

FloSports EVP Phil Wendler drops in for a wide-ranging convo on the latest TSW pod, talking about how the company hit profitability without chasing tier-one leagues. With 40K+ events streamed and 23M viewers last year, FloSports is winning by going…

CBS has expanded its podcast partnership with Audacy to include 39 news and entertainment shows. The deal builds on their CBS Sports collaboration and adds titles like 48 Hours, Survivor, and The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, creating new ad…

YouTube has quietly become the world’s largest podcast platform, with 1 billion monthly podcast viewers—far outpacing Spotify (100 million) and Apple Podcasts. Unlike traditional podcast platforms, YouTube’s video-first approach is redefining the format, forcing creators to prioritize visuals for discovery…