By Rebecca Brooman and Davey Grundy, Digital and Audio Activation
The podcast industry is continuously growing, evolving from a niche medium into a mainstream channel available across a wide range of environments. In just a few years, podcasting has become a go-to space for storytelling, news and entertainment. New opportunities continue to emerge, including the rise of vodcasts.
Joining this momentum, Netflix has announced plans to enter the podcast space with live shows featuring Bill Simmons and dozens of additional podcast titles. This move challenges Spotify’s dominance in audio-first podcasting and YouTube’s leadership in video podcasts, signalling potential shifts in how podcast advertising is bought and planned.
Netflix has a track record for trialling new ideas, from reshaping TV consumption to experimenting with gaming and new formats. Its six- and seven-figure talent deals suggest a strategic push into video-first podcasting, using algorithmic promotion to test audience response before scaling investment.
Netflix’s entry puts pressure on Spotify by weakening the appeal of its exclusive content model. Compared with Netflix’s vast built-in audience and major network partnerships, Spotify’s approach feels narrower, potentially pushing creators toward platforms with broader reach. As demand for visual content grows, Netflix’s video podcast format aligns with audience preferences, while Spotify remains primarily audio-focused, urging a rethink of its strategy.
At the same time, Netflix’s move into video podcasts directly challenges YouTube’s polished, studio-level creator ecosystem. However, YouTube still holds a major advantage through its strong ad-revenue model, which offers creators higher earning potential than Netflix is likely to match. The platforms also operate on fundamentally different models: YouTube is open and built for discovery, while Netflix is closed and subscription-based, which may slow the scale of its competitive impact.
As new platforms enter the market, competition for top creators and premium inventory is intensifying. However, after years of heavy investment from Spotify, the market is beginning to stabilise. Meanwhile, hybrid video podcast formats are reshaping how podcasts are produced and consumed.
Netflix’s move into podcasting will also have implications for how media agencies plan and buy podcast inventory. With Netflix entering the space with a video-first model, agencies may need to rethink traditional audio buying strategies and consider how podcast placements fit within broader video plans. The introduction of premium, studio-quality video-podcasts on a subscription platform could create new high-impact environments that sit closer to TV and OLV than to conventional podcast buys. Increased competition among platforms is likely to create a more diverse range of inventory, giving agencies more choice, but also adding complexity around measurement, cross-platform frequency and audience duplication. As hybrid formats grow and more players enter the market, agencies will adopt more flexible, platform-agnostic approaches, evaluating podcasts not just as audio channels but as part of a wider content buy.
Overall, the podcast ecosystem is shifting into a competitive and fast-moving phase, driven by new formats, new players and evolving audience expectations. Netflix’s arrival accelerates this momentum, pushing the industry towards more visual and innovative content models. While Spotify, YouTube and other established platforms still hold strong positions, they can no longer rely solely on the strategies that built their early success. As video podcasts grow and monetisation models mature, the platforms that thrive will be those able to adapt quickly and continue meeting audiences’ appetite for flexible and engaging content.
