Spotify Podcasts On NetFlix
By bringing Spotify podcasts to Netflix, both platforms are redefining distribution: Netflix gains steady, personality-driven programming, and Spotify extends its reach to connected TVs where audiences already watch creator content. The collaboration marks a shift in how streaming services view podcasts, not as side content, but as scalable video properties that attract loyal viewers.
The details are still emerging, especially whether Spotify’s ad inventory will carry through to Netflix, but the intent is clear. Podcasts are substantial competition for on-screen attention.
Expanding Reach Through Collaboration
Netflix is not simply adding a new category; it is positioning itself to compete with YouTube and Amazon as a destination for creator-led, personality-driven content. The move gives Netflix a steady stream of talk-based, evergreen programming that keeps viewers engaged without the production costs of traditional shows.
For Spotify, this partnership solves a distribution problem. Its video-podcast strategy has struggled to gain traction, capturing only a fraction of the watch time that YouTube commands. By aligning with Netflix, Spotify puts its podcasts where audiences already spend time: on connected TVs and streaming platforms.
What Spotify Podcasts Are Coming to Netflix (And The Big One That Isn’t)
The slate of shows Spotify is bringing to Netflix highlights the depth and range of its podcast portfolio across The Ringer and Spotify Studios, from Bill Simmons’ flagship sports talk and The Rewatchables’ cult-film nostalgia to Dissect’s deep-dive music analysis and the true-crime intrigue of Serial Killers and Conspiracy Theories. It’s a cross-section of Spotify’s most established verticals: sports, culture, lifestyle, and true crime.
What’s notably missing, though, is The Joe Rogan Experience, Spotify’s most visible and commercially successful podcast, for which it holds exclusive distribution and ad-sales rights but not ownership. Rogan’s omission underscores the licensing complexities of this new partnership: while Spotify can share content it fully controls or produces, shows like Rogan’s remain governed by separate contractual and platform arrangements. In effect, the Netflix deal showcases Spotify’s studio ecosystem rather than its biggest star, signaling a shift from exclusivity toward strategic syndication to maximize reach across screens.
How Wondery and Amazon Expanded Distribution Beyond YouTube
Amazon was actually the first major streamer to push podcasts beyond audio and into multi-format distribution. After acquiring Wondery in 2020, Amazon began integrating podcasts across its ecosystem (Amazon Music, Audible, Alexa, Fire TV, and later Prime Video). Wondery experimented early with turning hit shows like “Dr. Death” and “SmartLess” into visual properties, releasing them as video podcasts and docu-series on Prime Video and Freevee. By treating Prime Video as an extension of its podcast network rather than a separate entertainment platform, Amazon quietly built the first studio-owned cross-screen podcast strategy, one that blurred the lines between audio storytelling, creator video, and on-demand streaming years before its rivals caught up.
Why Streaming Needs Podcasts
Podcasts have proven they can deliver something that streaming services increasingly need: consistent engagement and built-in audiences. They are low-cost, high-loyalty content that fits seamlessly into the viewing habits of modern audiences.
For Netflix, podcasts offer a scalable way to retain subscribers between major releases. For Spotify, the partnership elevates its top shows to a new stage and tests how creator-driven content performs alongside premium programming. Both companies gain new distribution channels without reinventing their business models.
This partnership does not just bring podcasts to TV; it brings TV closer to the authenticity and accessibility that podcasts already mastered.
Competing for Watch Time
The Netflix and Spotify collaboration highlights a broader battle for attention among major platforms.
- YouTube remains the leading platform for video podcasts, with Edison Research reporting that more than half of Americans have watched a podcast and over 60 percent of weekly podcast listeners actively watch video versions.
- Spotify continues to invest in video capabilities but has not matched YouTube’s creator ecosystem.
- Netflix entering this space signals a new stage of competition focused less on catalog size and more on viewer time.
Implications for Advertisers and Creators
What remains to be seen is how advertising will fit into this model. Will Netflix carry Spotify’s existing ad inventory, or will it sell its own? The answer could determine how integrated podcast advertising becomes within streaming environments beyond creator-controlled platforms.
Amazon, which owns and distributes video podcasts like New Heights, treats Prime Video like an additional distribution channel and includes those impressions as part of its advertiser packages. If this partnership performs well, Netflix could expand its roster of creator-led content, blending professional and independent programming in a way that expands reach for creators and advertisers alike, reshaping audience expectations for streaming.
This move reinforces the need for cross-screen attribution strategies that connect podcast and video environments. Tools like Podscribe (if pixel tracking is allowed) and Fairing will be key in linking listening and viewing behavior within a single attribution framework.
For creators, this shift toward visual storytelling offers greater options for engagement and discoverability. For brands, creative flexibility becomes critical, ensuring that host-read authenticity works across both earbuds and television screens.
Audio influence migrated to multi-format storytelling. The same trust that drives podcast engagement can now fuel on-screen discovery.
The Takeaway
Last week’s projections from eMarketer as reported by Inside Radio showed podcasts on track to capture 40.6 percent of digital audio ad revenue by 2029. This week’s development shows why: platforms are reengineering their strategies around podcasts, not the other way around.
The Netflix and Spotify partnership signals a new phase for both industries. Podcasts are no longer background listening; they are front and center in the fight for watch time.
Sherry Del Rizzo
Sherry leads ADOPTER Media’s inbound content marketing, SEO strategy, brand authority, and knowledge base development. Translation: she makes sure the agency’s expertise shows up in the right places from search rankings to industry conversations. For her, marketing isn’t just about promotion, it's about translating ideas into content people actually want to engage with.
