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Your Listeners May Not Care About Audio vs. Video as Much as You Think

Your Listeners May Not Care About Audio vs. Video as Much as You Think

New research suggests podcast fans aren't choosing sides in the audio-vs.-video debate; they're choosing whatever format works for the moment they're in.

September 30, 2026

Audio or video? It's become one of the biggest conversations in podcasting. Should you record video? Does an audio-only show still have a place? Do you need clips? Should you be on YouTube? Are listeners becoming viewers? But while the podcast industry continues debating formats, listeners may have already moved on.

Acast's new Podcast Pulse 2026 surveyed 4,300 people ages 16–64 across 13 markets and found that 88% of podcast fans consume both audio and video. Even more interesting? 63% have started a podcast episode in one format and finished it in another. And among those listeners, three-quarters have even switched apps along the way.

The takeaway might not be that audio is winning or video is winning. It may be that listeners don't think about podcast formats the same way the industry does. Here are some key things for indie podcasters to remember:

Your Listener's Day May Be Choosing the Format

Think about your own day. Someone might listen to a podcast while driving to work, watch another while eating lunch, see a clip while scrolling later that afternoon and finish an episode on the couch that evening. It's all podcast consumption.

According to Acast, 78% of podcast fans consume podcasts across two or more formats, including long-form audio, video and social clips.

But audio isn't disappearing in that mix. In fact, the study found 64% of respondents described podcasts as a daily companion during screen-free moments. That distinction matters.

Video can give audiences another way to experience a show without automatically replacing the experience that made podcasting work in the first place.

Clips Are Playing a Different Role

The research also gives us an interesting look at short-form content. Acast found that 63% of people who consume podcast clips go on to consume full podcast episodes. This is a timely reminder that a clip and a full episode don't necessarily have to accomplish the same thing. A 45-second clip might introduce someone to your personality or an interesting conversation. The full episode gives them somewhere to go next. And audio gives them a way to continue that relationship when staring at a screen isn't practical. Instead of asking every piece of content to do everything, creators can start asking: What job do I want this format to do?

What This Means for Indie Podcasters

Let’s start with what it doesn’t mean: It does not mean every podcaster suddenly needs a full video studio. Acast itself describes multi-format distribution as an opportunity for flexible audience reach, not a mandatory shift to video production. That's an important distinction, particularly for indie creators who are already producing, editing, marketing and managing a show with limited time and resources.

Instead of asking: Do I need to become a video podcaster? Maybe the better questions are:

Where does my audience already spend time?
When does audio make the most sense for my show?
Could video add something meaningful to the experience?
Could a few strategic clips help new people discover what I'm already creating?

And perhaps most importantly: What can I realistically sustain?

You don't necessarily need to create everything, everywhere, all at once. The opportunity may simply be to give listeners more than one doorway into your show.

Think in Moments, Not Formats

One of the most useful ideas coming out of this research is that podcast consumption is increasingly about context. The same listener can be an audio listener at 8 a.m., a clip viewer at noon and a video viewer at 9 p.m. That doesn't necessarily mean their loyalty is to one format. Their loyalty may be to the show.

The goal doesn't have to be chasing whichever format the industry declares the future. It can be understanding how your audience wants to experience your work and creating the best opportunities you reasonably can for them to do it.

Would You Give Up Some Reach to Keep More Control of Your Podcast?

Big platforms can put podcasts in front of enormous audiences. But when someone else controls the door, how much control are creators willing to trade for that reach?

One of podcasting's greatest strengths has always been pretty simple: You don't need permission to make one.

You can create a show, publish it through an RSS feed and make it available to listeners without waiting for a network executive, programming director or media company to decide whether your podcast deserves a spot. But the places where audiences encounter podcasts are changing.

New data from The Podcast Landscape 2026 found that when U.S. podcast consumers were asked where they had consumed a podcast during the past year, YoTube came first, Spotify second and Netflix moved into third place.

And that sparked an interesting conversation from Sounds Profitable's Tom Webster about something much bigger than where people listen: Gatekeepers.

What's Behind It?

There's an important difference between platforms like YouTube or Spotify and a platform like Netflix. A podcaster can decide to distribute their show on YouTube or Spotify. You can't simply decide your podcast is going to be on Netflix. Netflix decides. And the podcasts appearing there tend to already be established shows with significant audiences.

Webster's concern isn't that Netflix is somehow doing something wrong by carrying podcasts. For the shows invited onto the platform, reaching Netflix's enormous audience could be a fantastic opportunity.

The bigger question is what happens as more podcast consumption moves toward spaces where someone else decides which podcasts get through the door. Because for indie podcasters, that creates an interesting tension. How much reach are you willing to trade for control?

Underlying Questions

Imagine a major platform offered your podcast access to an audience dramatically larger than the one you have today. There's just one catch. They control how your show is surfaced. They control what listener information you receive. They can change their algorithm, priorities or programming strategy. And ultimately, they can decide whether your show continues to have access to that audience at all. Would you take the deal?

For many creators, the answer might immediately be yes. But it raises some bigger questions about where podcasting is heading. If more listeners discover podcasts through platforms that curate what they see, what happens to the shows that aren't selected? Does reaching listeners wherever they already spend their time outweigh the value of an open podcast ecosystem?

And perhaps most importantly for indie creators: Are you using a platform to grow your podcast or building a podcast that depends on the platform?

What Are Your Thoughts?

There are good arguments on both sides.

Team Reach: Go where the listeners are. Podcasting doesn't benefit from insisting audiences use particular apps or technology. If YouTube, Netflix, Spotify or whatever comes next can introduce more people to podcasts, creators should take advantage of those opportunities. Great content deserves the biggest audience it can find.

Team Control: Reach isn't quite as valuable when someone else controls your access to it. Open podcasting gives creators the ability to publish without waiting to be selected, maintain a presence across platforms and build relationships that aren't completely dependent on one company's priorities.

And maybe there's a middle ground. Use the platforms. Just don't build your entire house on land you don't own. A large platform can be an incredible doorway into your podcast. The question is whether it should become the only doorway.

Final Thoughts

There's nothing inherently wrong with wanting more reach. Most creators want more people to experience the work they've put so much time into making. And if a platform can introduce your podcast to thousands (or millions) of new people, that's difficult to ignore.

But indie podcasting has also been built on something unusual in modern media: The ability to create without first being chosen.

As more podcasts show up alongside television, music, social media and other entertainment, that independence may become even more important to remember. Perhaps this isn't really a choice between reach and control. Maybe it's about making sure that while we're looking for new places to reach listeners, we don't accidentally give any one place the power to determine whether listeners can reach us.

We Want to Hear From You

Would you give up some control over your podcast if it meant reaching a much larger audience? Or is maintaining independence more important even if it means slower growth? And where would you draw the line?

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