Nielsen Finds Audio Still Anchors Podcasting
According to Nielsen’s Podcast Listen & Watch report, audio remains the foundation of podcast consumption, with 90% of monthly podcast consumers listening while 62% also watch video. The report finds listeners treat audio as a secondary soundtrack for commuting, work, and exercise, while video viewers treat podcasts as destination programming watched at home. For more on the different roles of audio and video in podcasting, catch Tom Webster’s article series on The Podcast Atlas data.
WARC: YouTube Podcast Viewing Surges
YouTube viewers now consume more than 700 million hours of podcasts monthly on TV screens, up 70% year over year. Even with that surge, WARC projects YouTube’s ad revenue growth will slow to 7% this year as TikTok and Netflix apply competitive pressure. Television remains YouTube’s fastest-growing screen, now accounting for 45% of total U.S. watch time.
YouGov: Podcast Genre Preferences Remain Split Sharply Along Gender Lines
YouGov surveyed more than 1,300 U.S. adults, including over 800 podcast consumers, and found men are five times more likely than women to regularly listen to sports podcasts, while women over-index in true crime, self-improvement, lifestyle, and wellness. News is the most popular genre overall, drawing 56% of men and 44% of women. Comedy acts as a genre equalizer, with similar consumption rates across genders.
Spotify Traded Podcast Exclusivity for Creator Dependence
The Streaming Wars staff reflects on Spotify’s repositioning in the podcast market. After spending over $300 million on exclusive content and studios, Spotify has shifted to operating the infrastructure layer that creators depend on for discovery, distribution, and monetization. Creators now own their IP and absorb production costs while Spotify controls the marketplace with less financial risk. The company’s own research shows its recommendation system drove a 14.3% lift in new-show discovery during testing, underscoring how much power that gatekeeping role carries.
…as for the rest of the news:
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Podcast Movement President Bryan Barletta joins the Podnews Weekly Review to preview September’s five-day New York Audio Week, alongside a look back at ten years of UK network Podmasters.
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Red Seat Ventures announced the introduction of its premium creator and podcast communities to Amazon DSP, opening a portfolio of more than 40 creators to programmatic buyers.
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YouTube reports its creative ecosystem contributed $60 billion to US GDP in 2025, supporting 540,000 full-time equivalent jobs.
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Scalable covered the launch of beehiiv’s new community feature for creators, alongside programmatic ads and an AI assistant.
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ekoz.ai launched an AI voiceprint platform to scale host-read ads, partnering with Triton Digital, Spreaker, DAX, and Podgo.
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iHeartMedia’s Raiders of the Lost Podcast joined the TikTok Podcast Network, deepening the distribution partnership between the two companies.
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Acast’s Managing Director of US Sales Ricardo Neto joins PodBiz to discuss why brands are investing beyond podcast downloads.
