Podcasts & Video: A New Trend
Video podcast are becoming a thing and shouldn't be ignored. This doesn't mean ignore audio, just think about the visual aspect of the show too.
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There is no denying it video in podcasting is here to stay. Paul Riismandel of Signal Hill Insights agrees. It was the number 1 trend he talked about out of the 3 he highlighted.
He writes:
Trend #1: There’s No Arguing – Podcasts Are Video Now, and Brands Agree
In the April 2022 edition of the Cumulus Media / Signal Hill Insights Podcast Download we first observed YouTube taking over as the most used podcast platform in the US. At the time we were met with a fair amount of skepticism from some corners of the industry. Among the complaints, I heard that consumers didn’t understand the difference between a typical YouTuber, like Mr. Beast, and a podcast.
Additional research with video podcast viewers, like Sound You Can See, showed audiences weren’t confused about what a podcast is. Since then multiple other studies corroborated YouTube’s status (including The Canadian Podcast Listener and The Podcast Landscape). All the while, YouTube’s prominence continued to grow. The Fall 2025 Download shows it’s now most used by 42% of weekly podcast consumers – nearly 3x as many who use Spotify most.
I put one of my two main podcasts out at video and audio. I see much more traction with the video one than I do with the one that's only audio. (Now this can that there is more promotion for the former than the latter as well. So not a foolproof test by any stretch of the imagination.)
I think this is because people like to see the people who are talking and when there is more than one it can be hard to differentiate who is talking when.
But with this in mind, I agree with James Cridland, of PodNews.net, that it's only a podcast if it also has an RSS feed and can be consumed in a podcast player as well.
That's the big differentiator I see between straight videos on YouTube and video podcasts. You can still watch the video podcasts on YouTube, but you can also listen to them elsewhere as well.
I often find myself switching between listening and watching my video podcasts. It really depends on what I'm doing at the time. If I want to watch something and not so much else, I'll consume the video, otherwise my phone is in my pocket and I'm multitasking.
One thing I've noticed is that podcasters who do video need to realize that not everyone is watching them so visuals need to be described as well. Some hosts do this better than others.
So is the audio podcast dead? Not at all! I just think this is an evolution of the medium and it will ebb and flow as time goes on.
What do you think? Do you listen or watch your podcasts? Which do you prefer?
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The news and content consumption landscape has shifted—and podcasts are leading the charge.
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Web Jawn
Oxford Road
I agree, YouTube ads are horrible and poorly targeted.
Andrew Hutchinson
Of course Meta is considering this. They need to make money and this is one way. I think many businesses will find ways to work around it, leave platform, or suck it up and pay.
Andrew Hutchinson
It seems like all the short-form video companies are releasing editing apps to take on CapCut. I wonder if we can use the Snapchat editor for external videos. 🤔
Barry Schwartz
I tend to agree to a point. Provide relevant, high quality content and you will have a better chance of showing up in AI search. I'm sure there's some other nuances to this that will help that aren't something you'd do in traditional SEO. But Google isn't telling, that's for sure.
Danny Goodwin
I agree with Danny, we don't need a new term for AI SEO. It's just SEO but with an AI angle.
Duane Forrester
It all falls to the content. Crappy content doesn't rank as well. Even in AIO/GEO/AISEO.
Rebecca Bellan
AI companies, especially OpenAI, are improving their models at a break-neck pace.
Jeff Umbro
Some interesting predictions for 2026 for podcasting.
Steve Dent
App Store For ChatGPT. Intriguing.
Posted by Dustin Bluck on Dec 13, 2025
A good move. Inception Point AI is just producing junk for a money play and is cheapening the experience of podcasting.
Encrypted messaging on ActivityPub is going to be great!
Jay Peters
I think this is a good idea. Five good hashtags makes sense. Not endless lists of them.
Tim Chambers
My buddy Tim Chambers Open Social Web Predictions are on point!
Web Find
My buddy AJ's podcast. Have a listen.
dmpop
A neat little project.
Open source Tiktok! It's pretty great!
Pulkit Chandak
That's It For This Week! Keep Rocking It!
-Seth
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