Video Podcast 2026 Statistics (Updated September)

How many people watch podcasts on YouTube

1. 1

   YouTube had more than 1 billion monthly active viewers of podcast content in February 2025.

   Source: YouTube Official Blog, 2025 ^[1]

2. 2

   Viewers watched more than 700 million hours of YouTube podcasts on living room devices in October 2025, up from 400 million hours a year earlier.

   Source: YouTube Official Blog, 2025 ^[2]

3. 3

   YouTube took 32% of the time Americans spent with podcasts each day in Q4 2025; Spotify took 25% and Apple 20%, according to Edison Research's Share of Ear diary.

   Source: Edison Research, 2026 ^[3]

4. 4

   37% of U.S. weekly podcast consumers use YouTube most often for podcasts in 2026, up from 31% two years earlier, in Edison Research data reported by Inside Radio.

   Source: Inside Radio, reporting Edison Research, 2026 ^[4]

5. 5

   44% of U.S. weekly podcast consumers said YouTube is the platform they use most for podcasts in April 2026, against 14% for Spotify and 5% for Apple, in a Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights survey of 600 listeners.

   Source: Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights, 2026 ^[5]

6. 6

   84% of U.S. Gen Z monthly podcast listeners surveyed by Edison in 2023 had discovered a podcast on YouTube.

   Source: YouTube Creators, citing Edison Research, 2023 ^[6]

Video podcasts on Spotify

1. 7

   More than 500 million Spotify users have streamed a video podcast, nearly 50% more than a year earlier, Spotify said in May 2026.

   Source: Spotify newsroom, 2026 ^[7]

2. 8

   More than 170 million Spotify users had watched a video podcast by June 2024.

   Source: Spotify newsroom, 2024 ^[8]

3. 9

   Spotify carried more than 250,000 video podcast shows in June 2024, up from 100,000 in 2023.

   Source: Spotify newsroom, 2024 ^[8]

4. 10

   More than 70% of Spotify users who consume video podcasts watch them in the foreground.

   Source: Spotify newsroom, 2024 ^[8]

5. 11

   Average daily streams of video podcasts on Spotify grew more than 39% year over year in 2024.

   Source: Spotify newsroom, 2024 ^[8]

6. 12

   The number of creators publishing video on Spotify each month grew nearly 70% year over year in 2024.

   Source: Spotify newsroom, 2024 ^[8]

7. 13

   In Brazil, video made up more than 15% of podcast listening hours on Spotify in 2024.

   Source: Spotify newsroom, 2024 ^[8]

8. 14

   Roughly 20% of monthly active podcast creators in Brazil and the Philippines publish video on Spotify.

   Source: Spotify newsroom, 2024 ^[8]

9. 15

   Over 60% of Spotify's most popular shows offered a video version by mid-September 2025, Deloitte counted.

   Source: Deloitte, 2026 ^[9]

How many people watch video podcasts

1. 16

   51% of Americans age 12 and older had watched a video podcast by 2025; 37% had watched one in the last month and 26% in the last week, in Edison Research's 2025 survey.

   Source: Edison Research, 2025 ^[10]

2. 17

   57% of Americans age 12 and older have both listened to and watched a podcast, in Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2026 survey.

   Source: Edison Research, 2026 ^[3]

3. 18

   21% of U.S. podcast consumers only listen and 2% only watch; the rest do both, in Edison Research data reported by Inside Radio.

   Source: Inside Radio, reporting Edison Research, 2026 ^[4]

4. 19

   80% of U.S. podcast consumers aged 18 and older both listen and watch, 13% only listen and 7% only watch, Triton Digital found.

   Source: Triton Digital, 2026 ^[11]

5. 20

   Science (58%), History (56%) and Fiction (54%) podcasts are mostly listened to as audio, while Music, Sports, Kids & Family, Comedy and News lean more toward video, in Triton Digital's 2026 survey of U.S. podcast consumers aged 18 and older.

   Source: Triton Digital, 2026 ^[11]

6. 21

   27% of U.S. consumers watch video podcasts weekly, led by Gen Z and millennials, according to Deloitte's Fall 2025 Digital Media Trends survey.

   Source: Deloitte, 2026 ^[9]

7. 22

   44% of U.S. video podcast watchers never multitask while watching, against 29% of podcast listeners who never multitask while listening, in Deloitte's 2026 Digital Media Trends survey.

   Source: Deloitte, 2026 ^[9]

8. 23

   90% of U.S. monthly podcast consumers listen to podcasts and 62% watch them, Nielsen found in 2026.

   Source: Nielsen, 2026 ^[12]

Do people prefer to watch or listen

1. 24

   49% of U.S. weekly podcast consumers prefer to actively watch the video while listening, up from 30% in April 2022, in a Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights survey of 600 listeners.

   Source: Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights, 2026 ^[5]

2. 25

   92% of U.S. weekly podcast consumers say they listen to podcasts; 8% say they only watch, in a Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights survey of 600 listeners in April 2026.

   Source: Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights, 2026 ^[5]

3. 26

   27% of UK podcast listeners prefer video podcasts, 26% let the video play in the background and 39% prefer audio only, in Ofcom's 2026 research.

   Source: Ofcom, 2026 ^[13]

4. 27

   72% of UK weekly podcast consumers aged 15 and older actively watch video podcasts in 2026, up from 58% in 2023, in Edison Research's 2026 UK survey.

   Source: Edison Research, 2026 ^[14]

5. 28

   29% of UK weekly podcast consumers use YouTube most for podcasts in 2026, ahead of Spotify at 28% for the first time Edison has recorded.

   Source: Edison Research, 2026 ^[14]

Podcasts on TV screens and streaming services

1. 29

   38% of U.S. weekly podcast consumers listen via a smart TV, and podcast viewing on smart TVs grew 19% in a year, in a Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights survey of 600 listeners in April 2026.

   Source: Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights, 2026 ^[5]

2. 30

   10% of UK weekly podcast consumers use a smart TV most often for podcasts in Q1 2026, up from 4% in 2023, in Edison Research's UK survey.

   Source: Edison Research, 2026 ^[14]

3. 31

   In a Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights survey of 600 listeners, 62% of U.S. weekly podcast consumers knew by April 2026 that Netflix carries podcasts, four months after Netflix added them; 76% knew that video streaming services offer podcasts.

   Source: Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights, 2026 ^[5]

How much video is in podcast RSS feeds

1. 32

   112,840 of the 4,711,475 feeds in the Podcast Index (2.40%) carry a video file as their newest episode, in Podcastquery's count of the Podcast Index.

   Source: Podcastquery · feed dump 2026-08-16 · 4,711,475 feeds · method

2. 33

   Only 3,272 of the 437,693 podcasts in the Podcast Index that published in the 90 days to August 16, 2026 (0.75%) carry a video file as their newest episode, in Podcastquery's count of the Podcast Index.

   Source: Podcastquery · 90 days to 2026-08-16 · 437,693 active feeds · method

3. 34

   26,129 feeds in the Podcast Index (0.55%) give a YouTube page as their website; among active feeds it is 2,764 of 437,693 (0.63%), in Podcastquery's count of the Podcast Index.

   Source: Podcastquery · feed dump 2026-08-16 · 4,711,475 feeds; 437,693 active feeds · method

4. 35

   6.91% of the Podcast Index feeds that started in 2022 carry a video file as their newest episode, against 0.55% of those that started in 2025 (1,957 of 356,901), in Podcastquery's count of the Podcast Index.

   Source: Podcastquery · start year = year of the oldest episode · 347,399 feeds started in 2022; 356,901 started in 2025 · method

5. 36

   Among active podcasts with a video file as their newest episode, Podbean hosts 604 and Libsyn 593, the two largest hosts; Anchor (Spotify for Creators), the largest host overall, is not in the top eight, in Podcastquery's count of the Podcast Index.

   Source: Podcastquery · 90 days to 2026-08-16 · 3,272 active video feeds · method

Video podcast creators, publishers and ads

1. 37

   About 71% of U.S. podcast creators make video versions of their shows, IAB's 2025 revenue report says.

   Source: IAB and PwC, 2026 ^[15]

2. 38

   79% of news editors, CEOs and digital executives surveyed by the Reuters Institute said it would be important to invest more in video in 2026; 71% planned to expand audio.

   Source: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, 2026 ^[16]

3. 39

   Deloitte predicts that global advertising revenue for podcasts and video podcasts will reach about $5 billion in 2026, nearly 20% more than in 2025 (forecast).

   Source: Deloitte, 2026 ^[9]

4. 40

   YouTube views of podcast ads were 18% to 25% less effective at driving purchases than audio downloads, Oxford Road and Podscribe found.

   Source: Oxford Road and Podscribe, 2026 ^[17]

5. 41

   78% of brands in the Oxford Road and Podscribe study showed lower response rates as YouTube's share of their podcast buy grew.

   Source: Oxford Road and Podscribe, 2026 ^[18]

Frequently asked questions

How many people watch podcasts on YouTube?

YouTube reported more than 1 billion monthly active viewers of podcast content in February 2025. In October 2025 people watched more than 700 million hours of YouTube podcasts on living room devices, up from 400 million a year earlier.

How many podcasts are on YouTube?

YouTube does not publish a count of podcast shows. Among the 4,711,475 RSS feeds in the Podcast Index, 26,129 (0.55%) give a YouTube page as their website. Spotify, which does publish a count, carried more than 250,000 video podcast shows in June 2024.

What share of podcast listeners watch video?

Edison Research found that 51% of Americans 12 and older had watched a video podcast by 2025 and 57% have both listened to and watched one. Triton Digital puts 80% of U.S. podcast consumers in the group that both listens and watches, with 7% who only watch.

Is YouTube the most used podcast platform?

In the U.S., yes. Edison found 37% of weekly podcast consumers use YouTube most often, and Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights found 44%, against 14% for Spotify and 5% for Apple. In the UK, YouTube (29%) passed Spotify (28%) for the first time in 2026.

Do podcast RSS feeds carry video?

Rarely. Of the 437,693 podcasts that published in the 90 days to 2026-08-16, 3,272 (0.75%) carry a video file as their newest episode. Video versions are mostly uploaded to YouTube and Spotify separately from the RSS feed.

Sources

1. [1]YouTube Official Blog. “Celebrating 1 billion monthly podcast users on YouTube”. 2025.↑1
2. [2]YouTube Official Blog. “Podcasts in the living room in 2025”. 2025.↑2
3. [3]Edison Research. “The Infinite Dial 2026”. 2026.↑3 ↑17
4. [4]Inside Radio, reporting Edison Research. “Video reshapes podcasting as audience hits new high”. 2026.↑4 ↑18
5. [5]Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights. “Podcast Download Spring 2026 Report”. 2026.↑5 ↑24 ↑25 ↑29 ↑31
6. [6]YouTube Creators, citing Edison Research. “Gen Z Podcast Report 2023”. 2023.↑6
7. [7]Spotify newsroom. “Investor Day 2026: podcast features and updates”. 2026.↑7
8. [8]Spotify newsroom. “250,000 video podcasts and counting”. 2024.↑8 ↑9 ↑10 ↑11 ↑12 ↑13 ↑14
9. [9]Deloitte. “TMT Predictions 2026: video podcasts”. 2026.↑15 ↑21 ↑22 ↑39
10. [10]Edison Research. “The Podcast Consumer 2025 (press release on Podnews)”. 2025.↑16
11. [11]Triton Digital. “2025 U.S. Podcast Report”. 2026.↑19 ↑20
12. [12]Nielsen. “Podcast Listen & Watch Report”. 2026.↑23
13. [13]Ofcom. “Audio listening research 2026”. 2026.↑26
14. [14]Edison Research. “The UK Podcast Consumer 2026 (press release on Podnews)”. 2026.↑27 ↑28 ↑30
15. [15]IAB and PwC. “Internet Advertising Revenue Report: Full Year 2025”. 2026.↑37
16. [16]Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. “Journalism and Technology Trends and Predictions 2026”. 2026.↑38
17. [17]Oxford Road and Podscribe. “Re-Thinking YouTube (press release on Podnews)”. 2026.↑40
18. [18]Oxford Road and Podscribe. “Re-Thinking YouTube”. 2026.↑41

Method

We searched Google for video podcast statistics, YouTube podcast statistics and how many podcasts are on YouTube, read the 7 statistics pages that ranked, and traced each number to the organisation that produced it, checked on September 24, 2026. We also searched OpenAlex, Semantic Scholar and Google Scholar for studies of video podcasts; the ones we found analyse single channels or classroom use and give no audience-wide numbers, so none are listed. YouTube does not publish how many podcast shows it hosts. Podcastquery numbers come from the Podcast Index feed dump of 2026-08-16: a feed counts as video when its newest episode file is a video file.

Podcastquery numbers new on this page:

• 112,840 of the 4,711,475 feeds in the Podcast Index (2.40%) carry a video file as their newest episode, in Podcastquery's count of the Podcast Index. A feed counts as video when the URL of its newest enclosure ends in .mp4, .m4v, .mov, .webm or .mkv (query string removed). mp4 accounts for 106,534 of them.
• Only 3,272 of the 437,693 podcasts in the Podcast Index that published in the 90 days to August 16, 2026 (0.75%) carry a video file as their newest episode, in Podcastquery's count of the Podcast Index. Active means an episode in the 90 days to the dump's reference date. Video podcasts on YouTube and Spotify are published outside the RSS feed, so the feed shows the audio file.
• 26,129 feeds in the Podcast Index (0.55%) give a YouTube page as their website; among active feeds it is 2,764 of 437,693 (0.63%), in Podcastquery's count of the Podcast Index. The feed's <link> element points at youtube.com or youtu.be.
• 6.91% of the Podcast Index feeds that started in 2022 carry a video file as their newest episode, against 0.55% of those that started in 2025 (1,957 of 356,901), in Podcastquery's count of the Podcast Index. Video feeds per start year divided by all feeds with that start year.
• Among active podcasts with a video file as their newest episode, Podbean hosts 604 and Libsyn 593, the two largest hosts; Anchor (Spotify for Creators), the largest host overall, is not in the top eight, in Podcastquery's count of the Podcast Index. Hosting platform read from the host field of each active video feed.

All 41 statistics as a CSV: video-podcast-statistics.csv.

Cite this page

Podcastquery, “Video Podcast 2026 Statistics (Updated September)”, updated September 2026, https://podcastquery.com/research/video-podcast-statistics

To cite one number, link its anchor: each statistic has one, for example https://podcastquery.com/research/video-podcast-statistics#stat-1.