No Headphones, No Problem: The Rise of Watchable Podcasts

You know the drill. It’s your morning commute, and there’s a new episode of You’re Wrong About, Normal Gossip, or whatever podcast you've recently become obsessed with. You grab your headphones and queue up the episode, ready to laugh or learn something while you head to work. Or at least…that used to be the drill. These days, you're more likely watching a recording of the podcast on YouTube or catching clips as they pop up on your TikTok "For You Page."

The rise of video podcasts appears to be more than a passing fad. In 2020, both Spotify and Apple introduced features allowing free and premium subscribers to watch their favorite podcasts. While the pandemic may have accelerated this trend, Kit Gray — co-founder and president of podcasting network, PodcastOne, which currently hosts over 200 podcasts — believes that people's inclination to consume content in diverse formats has also played a role. According to Gray, the pandemic prompted people to become "more accustomed to watching content in a different manner," adding that the allure of a podcast lies in the experience of being "in the room" with the hosts and fellow listeners.

But why has the popularity of video podcasts endured into 2023?

One contributing factor is accessibility for consumers, who are finding podcasts in all sorts of ways these days. A timely example? Riverdale's Cole Sprouse's viral moment from Alex Cooper's Call Her Daddy podcast. In March, images of Cole Sprouse waxing poetic and smoking a cigarette in a white-button down inspired meme after meme, being shared by millions all over social media and even reported in the news. Every time the meme was shared, Call Her Daddy gained free press, exposing the podcast to potential new fans. It was a moment that would've never been captured by audio alone.

Accessibility is, of course, important for consumers. But for creators? Gray emphasizes that podcast growth necessitates, "social media, exposure, and marketing" so the additional exposure through video maximizes the potential return on podcasts. “The reason podcasts became such an interesting medium is because it’s cheap," Gray told The Messenger. "Most models are ad-supported or subscription-based, so it all comes down to getting the biggest audience they possibly can.…Everybody should be trying to put their stuff on YouTube and monetizing it, and the advertisers should be getting full credit."

But are video podcasts here to stay?

They actually never left. Radio hosts turned podcasters Howard Stern and Joe Rogan have been making videos of their recording sessions for years — Stern launched his YouTube page in 2006 and Rogan in 2013, and they have a whopping 1.88 million and 14.9 million subscribers, respectively.

So, what's changed between then and now? The rise of a new generation that's turning old fads into new trends. A study conducted by data-decision intelligence company Morning Consult revealed that YouTube is the most-used app by Gen Z — 88% of them to be exact. So, if a new generation is spending a majority of their time watching content, there's no question that podcasts will continue to adapt.