Audio is Podcasting, However…
Audio built podcasting. It's still the engine.
RSS feeds, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, the whole distribution infrastructure that puts shows in people's earphones on the morning commute — that's audio, and it isn't going anywhere. Only 17% of podcast consumers exclusively watch video podcasts, while 84% listen to audio at least occasionally. Anyone telling you to abandon the audio-first approach doesn't understand how podcasting actually works.
We Can’t Ignore Podcast Discover Data
But here's what the data is also telling us, and it would be daft to ignore it.
YouTube is now the most-used service for weekly podcast listening in the US. Not the most-used video platform. The most-used podcast platform, full stop. 53% of new US weekly podcast listeners as of October 2025 prefer watching a podcast, up from 30% in April 2022. And on the production side, 71% of podcasters now incorporate video into their shows.
The audience is moving. Not away from audio — alongside it.
For businesses specifically, this matters in a way that goes beyond reach. YouTube accounted for 12.5% of all time spent streaming in the US in January 2026, more than any other service. Your potential clients are already there, in lean-back mode, watching long-form content. A video podcast puts you directly in that environment with credibility that a 30-second ad cannot replicate.
And you don't have to overhaul your entire production to benefit from it. The most practical starting point for most businesses is simply this: record video while you record audio, and use the footage to create short clips for LinkedIn, Instagram, and YouTube Shorts. The audio goes out through RSS as it always has. The video gives you a content engine that keeps working between episodes.
Audio podcast ads outperform video ads by 18-25% in purchase conversion, which tells you the audio relationship with your audience remains where trust ultimately lives. But video is where new people find you. The two formats do different jobs, and businesses that understand that will have a meaningful advantage over those still treating this as an either/or question.
The workflow doesn't have to be complicated. The results compound over time.
Further Reading
Why Video Podcasts Actually Make Sense for Your Business — The long game argument. Why the compound effect of video podcast content outperforms almost any other content format a business can invest in, and why your marketing team will thank you for it. https://www.podcaststudioglasgow.com/podcast-studio-glasgow-blog/why-video-podcasts-actually-make-sense-for-your-business
Audio vs Video Podcast: Which Is Better? (And What the Data Actually Says) — The honest answer, backed by the numbers. Audio isn't going anywhere, but the growth is unambiguously in video — and the smartest approach isn't choosing one over the other. https://www.podcaststudioglasgow.com/podcast-studio-glasgow-blog/audio-vs-video-podcast-which-is-better
Video Podcast Production in Glasgow: Why Multi-Camera Setups Win Every Time — Once you've decided to record video, the production decisions that actually matter. One static camera angle is not a video podcast. Here's what is. https://www.podcaststudioglasgow.com/podcast-studio-glasgow-blog/video-podcast-production-in-glasgow-why-multi-camera-setups-win-every-time
