If you have a podcast that is struggling to break through the noise of the millions of shows out there on Apple and Spotify, be sure you’re not overlooking the podcast distribution platform that rules them all: YouTube.
Bloomberg reports that over one billion people watch and/or listen to podcasts on YouTube every month, making it the most popular U.S. service for podcast shows, citing Edison Research.
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Tim Katz, vice president for partnerships at YouTube, told the outlet that YouTube hadn’t planned on this and pretty much stumbled onto its podcasting superpower.
“Podcasters were organically coming onto YouTube, and users were flocking to their content,” Katz said. “At that point, we were like, ‘We should lean in.'”
Katz says that after seeing an influx of podcasters coming to YouTube, “it was a matter of us pouring some gas on it.” Creators can now tag their content as podcasts, helping the algorithm serve up content to regular listeners, and Katz says the platform is exploring ways for podcasters to make money from their shows.
According to YouTube’s statistics, viewers watched more than 400 million hours of podcasts every month in 2024.
So, if you have a podcast, turn on the cameras and stop hiding behind your microphone. YouTube’s podcast audience is ravenous and hungry for more.
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