Sorry Spotify, YouTube is now formally the most important podcast platform on this planet

Abstract

YouTube has introduced that it has over one billion month-to-month podcast viewers.
In line with Edison Analysis, YouTube is the main platform for podcast listening within the US and is the best choice for locating new podcasts.
In September 2023, Spotify reported it had 100 million common podcast listeners, a far cry from YouTube’s present numbers.

Podcasts have turn out to be a serious phenomenon previously few years, and plenty of creators are pivoting to the favored format to develop their audiences. Whereas podcasts initially began out as an audio-only experience, many creators rapidly turned to publishing them in a video format additionally on locations like YouTube, and it appears their recognition has exploded.

In a current blog post, YouTube introduced that over one billion individuals on its platform tune in to podcasts month-to-month — a staggering one-eighth of the world’s inhabitants. Whereas YouTube is not historically a podcasting platform, it seems to have turn out to be the chief within the area. Podcasts are usually not simply well-liked on cell units and computer systems both; YouTube experiences that viewers watched greater than 400 million hours of podcasts month-to-month on their TVs in 2024.

“Podcasts with video are greater than only a pattern, they meet audiences the place they’re: on YouTube,” the corporate stated in a weblog submit. “We have particularly developed our podcast product expertise to make it simpler for followers to search out podcasts they love, uncover new ones, and watch (or hear!) wherever they need.”

YouTube Premium

What’s included?: YouTube and YouTube Music add-free and within the background
Value: $14 a month
Stay TV: No

The Spotify and YouTube icons on either side of an Android phone.

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Viewers flock to YouTube for podcasts within the US

Spotify is doubling down on its video efforts

YouTube app on an iPhone with a purple background.

In line with Edison Research, YouTube is the main platform for podcast listening within the US and the primary place individuals flip to for locating new podcasts. YouTube additionally appears to be outperforming its rivals considerably. In September 2023, Spotify announced it had 100 million common podcast listeners, with half a billion customers having listened to a podcast on its platform since 2019. Though these figures are over a 12 months previous, they nonetheless fall far in need of YouTube’s billion month-to-month podcast viewers.

Spotify has been pushing for video podcasts just lately, and creators can add video codecs of their podcasts for customers to observe or take heed to. Final 12 months, Spotify said it was doubling down on its efforts to ship “best-in-class-video” and a podcasting expertise that’s “superior to any platform.” Nevertheless, it appears the corporate has its work lower out to catch as much as YouTube.

As somebody who subscribes to each Spotify and YouTube Premium, I am not too stunned to listen to about these numbers for YouTube. I discover myself turning to full-length podcasts on YouTube greater than on Spotify just because the video format is extra participating. Nevertheless, one downside of YouTube for podcasts is that for those who’re listening on a cell gadget, you must pay for YouTube Premium to listen to it within the background.