Are Podcasts the New TV?

With the biggest shows regularly inking nine-figure distribution deals and landing presidential guests, it’s clear that podcasts are the medium of the moment. 

But the audio format has existed for over two decades, so what’s driving its ascendance into the ranks of mainstream media as of late? According to Morning Consult research, podcasters’ embrace of video is one major factor. 

Audio with a side of video, please 

It’s now fairly commonplace for podcasters to upload video footage alongside their audio recordings, and consumers appear to be enjoying it: Across all generations, the share of U.S. adults who say they prefer listening to podcasts with video has grown notably in recent years. 

Today, 42% of U.S. adults prefer listening in this manner, a 10 percentage point jump from a late 2022 Morning Consult survey on the same topic. It's also nearly double the share of those who said they prefer listening to podcasts without video (26%).

When asked why they prefer video podcasts, U.S. adults most frequently cite an ability to better focus on show content (89%) and a desire to see the facial expressions of hosts and guests (87%). Access to subtitles and closed captioning are also a particularly big draw for Gen Z adults (73%), who regularly use these tools as an attention aid for all kinds of media, according to previous Morning Consult research. 

The growing penchant for video podcasting is further highlighted by the ways in which consumers access such content. More than 1 in 3 (36%) podcast listeners identified YouTube as their favorite podcast platform, double-digits higher than the shares who said the same about audio-centric destinations Spotify (23%) and Apple Podcasts (13%).  

What’s more, large majorities of all major demographics report engaging with podcasts most often while at home — rather than during active moments like commuting or exercising — suggesting the medium now acts as an “entertainment companion” for many Americans, similar to the function that TV once served.

The audio-video flywheel

In some ways, the prioritization of visual media by podcasters was born out of necessity. Alongside the rise of TikTok, video has become the dominant language of the internet. As such, it is now a near-required supplement to any other kind of digital content, including audio — and many recent platform moves reflect this.

Spotify rolled out a full suite of video podcasting capabilities earlier this year and is actively courting video-first creators away from YouTube with hefty offers. Upstart platforms are also taking cues, with blog site Substack now heavily investing in video functions, both for podcasting and live streaming. 

But video additions to podcasts don’t just improve experiences for existing listeners; they help reach new ones, too — primarily via social media clipping. 

Nearly half (45%) of U.S. adults report seeing clips of podcasts on social media, and a third (33%) find these clips to be more enjoyable than the standard social content they encounter, such as influencer posts. Social media is also the primary way U.S. adults learn about new podcasts (42%).  

With podcast clips taking up such a notable amount of real estate on consumers’ feeds these days, companies of all kinds would be wise to find ways to get in the game, whether by creating branded shows or securing strategic ad placements. 

That said, there is one category in particular that could benefit from the heightened discoverability afforded by video podcasting: traditional news.

New(s) opportunities

News (76%) and investigative journalism (72%) are among the topics that podcast listeners, who skew younger, are most interested in. And while many legacy media institutions already produce popular podcasts, most of them still exist in audio-only formats. 

Investment in audio-plus-video content may be one way for these organizations to counteract declining engagement and relevance.

Traditional publishers could also try their hand at incorporating special tapings of some of their more popular podcast properties — such as The New York Times’ “The Daily” or NPR’s “Consider This” — into existing live event programming.

Only eight percent of U.S. adults say they have been to a live podcast event before, but a much larger share (41%) express interest in attending one in the future, suggesting the space has ample room for growth, especially considering the latter figure is even higher for Gen Zers (53%) and millennials (59%). 

A few non-news shows, including Alex Cooper’s “Call Her Daddy,” have already found success doing this — and created spaces for listeners to form in-real-life community in the process, something on many brands’ post-pandemic bucket lists.

Zooming out, the rise of both video and live podcasts speaks to the broader state of media; it’s evolving faster than ever before and it also values on-camera personalities more than ever before. Brands will likely have to build an internal talent roster of sorts to keep up.