Spotify just dropped numbers that show video podcasts aren't just a side experiment anymore - they're becoming the main event. The streaming giant now hosts nearly 500,000 video podcasts, with over 390 million users having streamed video content on the platform. That's a 54% jump year-over-year, and it's reshaping how we think about audio-first platforms in an increasingly visual world.
Spotify is quietly winning the video podcast war, and the numbers from its latest earnings call prove it. The platform that started as a music streaming service now hosts nearly half a million video podcasts, with more than 390 million users having watched video content - a staggering 54% increase from last year.
The growth trajectory tells a compelling story about where media consumption is heading. Just 18 months ago, Spotify had around 250,000 video podcasts when it rolled out tools for non-hosted creators to upload their content. Now it's doubled that catalog while transforming the entire user experience with comments, Q&As, and polls that make the app feel more like a social network than a traditional streaming service.
"We think that when the creator wins, we win," incoming co-CEO Alex Norström told investors during the earnings call. "They wanted to syndicate everywhere. And we believe in helping them reach audiences in as many places as possible, which is consistent with our core philosophy on being creator-first."
That creator-first philosophy is paying off in engagement metrics that would make YouTube nervous. Time spent with video content on Spotify has more than doubled year-over-year, largely driven by video podcasts. Even more telling, video podcast consumption has surged over 80% since the launch of the Spotify Partner Program in January, which gives qualifying creators new monetization options including audience-driven payouts from Premium subscribers.
But Spotify isn't content to keep this growth contained within its own walls. The company's recently announced partnership with Netflix to distribute video podcasts starting in 2026 represents a bold bet on becoming the YouTube of audio-video hybrid content. While investors didn't get details on revenue-sharing during the earnings call, the strategic logic is clear - position Spotify as the creator hub while leveraging Netflix's massive reach.
"It's part of our ubiquity strategy," co-CEO Gustav Söderström explained. "While we build a good user experience, we also need to have a very strong creator offering." The company points to its existing YouTube distribution as proof of concept - podcasts on YouTube actually drive incremental usage back to the main platform as users discover shows and want the full experience.
