View From the Top: Podcasting isn’t Breaking, it’s Bending
At Podcast Movement’s EVO25, I had the opportunity to moderate another great “A View From the Top” panel with four thoughtful leaders shaping the podcast space, including:
· Pete Birsinger, CEO, Podscribe
· Stephanie Chan, Strategic Lead, YouTube Podcasts
· Neil Mody, CEO, Headliner
· Will Pearson, President, iHeartPodcasts
The panel turned into something more than just a state of the union. It became a sharp and, at times, philosophical look at the transformation underway in podcasting: what’s changing, what’s worth preserving, and what’s next.
Below are key takeaways from the session, structured around the most talked-about themes, plus a few pointed quotes that stuck with me.
Video is no longer a side dish.
Five years ago, saying “YouTube” at a podcast conference was almost taboo. Today? It's the center of gravity.
“What used to be a bad word in podcasting is now the main word.”
— Neil Mody
Video in podcasting isn’t just a format shift. It’s a platform, audience behavior, and cultural reframe. Especially for Gen Z, podcasting is already associated with video. They don’t distinguish between watching and listening. The two are entwined. And the shift beyond Gen Z to all demos has been astoundingly fast.
Stephanie Chan from YouTube broke it down with clarity:
"Gen Z thinks of podcasts as video. YouTube wants to be a home for all podcasts, audio and video, and we’ve redesigned product features around that.” — Stephanie Chan
According to Stephanie, more than a billion people interact with podcast content on YouTube each month. Here’s the nuance: video doesn't need to mean expensive sets and overproduction. Think of it more as presence, identity, and visual connection.
That was a key theme on the panel.
“Don’t overthink the production. Some of our most successful shows are just well-lit conversations.”— Will Pearson
“Eyes optional.” — Neil Mody
The best shows understand that video is additive, not mandatory. For some creators, it’s a way to expand their reach. For others, it’s about intimacy or authenticity. Think of Emma Chamberlain in her room with a laptop camera. It may not be great video, but it is an intentional choice, and her audience loves her for it.
“The strategy for winning on YouTube is different from the strategy for winning in audio. Trying to do both at the same time is tough.” — Neil Mody
But Mody also had a warning:
“If you’re an audio-only creator, you’re either sitting out the biggest sea change in the industry, or you’re adapting to it. Get your content on YouTube. Even if it’s low effort, just to get the data.”
“The game is not about choosing audio or video. It’s about choosing the right path for each creator.” “I don’t see us as 800 podcasts. I see 20–25 mini-networks. Some audio-first. Some video-first. Some hybrid.” — Will Pearson, iHeart
Choosing whether your podcast should be audio or video is not a binary decision. It’s a strategy question. Your format should reflect what makes your content work and how your audience prefers to engage. Make intentional choices about how your show looks, just as you already do with how it sounds.
Podcasts at home - it’s not where, it’s how.
During the panel, Will Pearson mentioned that two-thirds of podcast listening now happens at home. That stat raised eyebrows, but let’s be honest: podcasting has always had strong at-home listening.
The difference now is how that listening looks.
“People are watching podcasts in the living room. It’s the new late-night.” — Stephanie Chan
Smart TVs have changed everything. What used to be a solo earbuds experience is now shared, visual, and on the big screen. The idea of a “lean-back” podcast experience, watching and not just listening, redefines how shows are produced, discovered, and monetized.
Discovery isn’t a chart anymore.
We’re well past the Apple Podcasts charts being the main avenue to discovery. That system wasn’t built for scale, and the game has changed.
As Stephanie pointed out:
“On YouTube, content isn’t pushed out. It’s pulled in based on audience behavior.”
That means discoverability is algorithmic and visual. Your packaging matters. The title. The thumbnail. The clip format. Even the captioning.
Creators are finding that discovery is not about where you rank. It’s about where you show up in someone’s algorithmic journey.
Monetization + measurement: the catch-up game.
Despite podcasting’s cultural rise, monetization still lags.
“Podcasting is still far behind TV and radio in monetization.” — Pete Birsinger, Podscribe
Advertisers continue to misunderstand how podcasting works, even at the most basic level.
“Still today, advertisers don’t understand how podcast ads travel via RSS.” — Will Pearson
That gap is largely due to fragmented measurement, especially as more creators simulcast across audio, YouTube, and Spotify video. Advertisers are asking: What did I just buy?
YouTube has solved part of the puzzle with Premium payouts, channel memberships, live tipping, and merch integrations.
“Even if Premium members don’t see ads, creators still get paid based on watch time.” — Stephanie Chan
“We just released a new ranker showing audio + YouTube together.” — Pete Birsinger
That’s exciting news from Pete. Combining audience from multiple platforms for reach is key.
Podcasting’s traditional ad model still relies heavily on downloads and RSS delivery, a system that’s becoming harder to quantify in a cross-platform world.
Pete shared that simulcast ad buys, or campaigns that run across both audio and YouTube, are already approaching 60% of total buys. It’s happening whether the measurement is perfect or not.
But the bottom line is clear: whoever cracks unified audio and video podcast analytics at scale will own the next phase of monetization.
BTW – The Podscribe benchmark reports are excellent and free.
The RSS debate of open vs. closed continues.
One of the deeper philosophical divides on the panel was about RSS, the invisible backbone of podcasting.
“RSS still matters. It’s the creator’s only true asset.” — Pete Birsinger
He made a compelling case for the open ecosystem, where creators control distribution, own audience relationships, and maintain access to metrics.
Others, like Neil Mody, acknowledged the tradeoff:
“The word podcast came from the iPod. Most of the platforms dominating podcasting today weren’t built around RSS. The future will be shaped by content, not format.”
As I see it, the tension is real and healthy. Open standards gave podcasting a low barrier to entry and independence. But platforms like YouTube offer massive scale, deeper metrics, and multiple monetization streams.
We’re now seeing two podcasting ecosystems emerge:
1. The open RSS-driven ecosystem (Apple, Overcast, Pocket Casts, etc.)
2. The platform-native world (YouTube, Spotify Video)
It’s not either/or, but creators need to know the pros and cons of each.
Final thoughts: it’s all about intent and bending.
If there’s one quote I keep thinking about, it’s this one:
“You don’t stumble onto a podcast. It’s an intentional act.” — Will Pearson
That may be the line that best separates podcasting from other media. Whether your show is audio-first, video-first, or hybrid, it succeeds when it earns that intentional click, tap, or play.
As I said during the panel, podcasting isn’t breaking, it’s bending. It’s bending toward video. Bending into living rooms. Bending into new discovery models, data expectations, and monetization stacks.
It’s not about abandoning what made podcasting great. It’s about adapting with purpose. Bending doesn’t mean compromise. It means flexibility. Evolution. Resilience.
So what’s next?
Creators must run their shows through a whole new set of filters:
- What are you optimizing for: reach or retention?
- Are you designing for headphones or 55-inch screens?
- Is your show best served by visuals or stronger without them?
- Are you building for open ecosystems, walled platforms, or both?
Whatever your answers, one thing is clear:
Video is no longer a trend. It’s a behavior. And it’s changing everything.
Are you feeling stuck on how to build a platform strategy for your podcasts, especially considering all the changes with video? Steve Pratt (author of “Earn It: Unconventional Strategies for Brave Marketers” and co-founder of Pacific Content and I are here to help. We’re teaming up and offering in-person or virtual strategy sessions that result in a custom, multi-platform roadmap aligned with your goals. Contact us!
You can also check out Steve’s post Wrong Question About Video, right here.
Also last week Jay Nachlis of Coleman Insights and I delivered a keynote about The State of Video Podcasting 2025. Jay has a new post about the strength of audio here.
We have a free webinar in which we run through all of the key findings on April 17 at 2pm. Sign up here