Video Is the New Battlefield: Spotify and YouTube Declare the Future of Podcasts

Two major year-end reports are painting a clear picture of where podcasting is heading as 2025 winds down: video isn’t just an add-on — it’s becoming the engine of growth.
Spotify’s Wrapped review confirms that The Joe Rogan Experience held onto its spot as the most popular podcast in the United States for the fifth straight year. But the bigger headline from Spotify is this: video is reshaping listener habits. Nearly half of the platform’s top 50 podcasts now release episodes with video, and Spotify says that shift is deepening the connection between hosts and audiences in ways pure audio simply can’t.

Meanwhile, YouTube marked its 20th anniversary by rolling out YouTube Recap, a personalized viewing summary alongside its usual year-end rankings. Those lists highlight the cultural forces driving the platform — from KPop Demon Hunters to MrBeast — and they also reinforce how tightly podcasts now sit inside the video ecosystem.

Shows like Joe Rogan and KILL TONY charted strongly across both audio and video, confirming that cross-platform viewing is no longer optional for creators aiming for sustained reach.


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