Netflix is banking on one of life’s few certainties: there will never be a shortage of people starting podcasts.
Driving the news: Netflix signed a deal with Spotify to bring a slate of 16 podcasts, including The Bill Simmons Podcast, to the streaming platform. The shows will roll out in the U.S. starting next year before expanding to other countries.
- As part of the deal, the shows will no longer release full episodes on YouTube, Netflix’s biggest competitor.
Why it’s happening: Listening to podcasts is so 2023. A recent study found that 72% of podcast listeners prefer shows with video. That trend has propelled YouTube to become the most popular podcast platform, with over 1 billion monthly viewers.
- Audio streamers like Spotify and Amazon’s Wondery have leaned more into video content, as well.
- Spotify told The Peak in December that Canada had seen 77% year-over-year growth in Canadian creators uploading video content and a 30% jump in monthly Canadian listens for video podcasts.
Why it matters: Whether it's podcasts, live sports, or knitting tutorials, media companies are all fighting to own that blissful window at the end of the day when we plunk down in front of our TV.
Zoom out: Even social media companies like Meta and TikTok are looking to add dedicated TV apps for watching short-form videos. Because if there’s one thing we’ve been missing as a society, it's the ability to doomscroll TikTok on a 60-inch screen.—LA