Everything is better with visuals, aren’t they? Graphic novels, gifs, memes, reels, shorts, videos, and even…podcasts? A format that is supposed to be largely audio, has taken up a much more visual identity. Having started out in the earlier days of video podcast fame with taped podcasts like the Man Enough started by Justin Baldoni, influencer Emma Chamberlain’s Anything Goes With Emma Chamberlain, to now even BBC Radio filming their morning interviews for YouTube, podcasts are no longer enjoyed in only an audio medium. One no longer listens to a podcast, one watches it.
A huge wave of podcasts have emerged across YouTube in exclusively video format. It appears that audiences prefer to watch the podcasters as they converse, rather than just being privy to the conversation aurally. While many have taken advantage of the podcast format having shifted to a visual medium by branding their very own interview shows as podcasts, many creators have also resorted to podcasts given the current popularity of the format.
Podcasts are available for streaming on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, BBC, Netflix and YouTube. Influencers, actors, authors and a whole bevy of others have taken to YouTube’s video podcast bandwagon, with yet another gamble at attracting audiences, and it seems to be working well. Last month, Apple, too, introduced their video podcast experience. Spotify revealed last month that over the past five years the company had poured approximately $10 billion into the podcast segment to drive creator earnings and engagement, and are now planning to further expand their monetisation to meet YouTube and Apple’s competition.
Video-First Mainstream
According to Bloomberg, YouTube is still the most popular podcast platform in the US. As for India, a Deloitte report indicates that the podcast market revenue is expected to grow from $969 million in 2024 to $4.5 billion in 2030, marking India’s move from a niche audio category to a video-first podcast consumer audience base.
The report describes the video podcast or vodcast phenomenon as such: “When viewers see the podcast hosts they know and love, the parasocial relationship strengthens—along with trust and perceived authenticity—which drives community and engagement. All this engagement adds up; users who watch vodcasts consume 1.5 times more content than users who only listen to podcast content,” read the report. A report by Wall Street Journal shares that annual global ad revenue for both audio and video format podcasts is expected to reach about $5 billion this year, up nearly 20% year-on-year.
Talk-Tech Creators
Among Indian creators, the likes of Raj Shamani, Ranveer Allahabadia, Prakhar Gupta, and Nikhil Kamath became names synonymous with podcasts. It is difficult to ascertain if they went from being social media influencers to podcasters or the other way around. Regardless, they enjoy the identities from both vocations equally.
Asian News International’s podcast with journalist Smita Prakash, Samdish Bhatia’s Unfiltered podcast were different in the nature of their content, but were among the first to rear their heads in video format in the Indian podcast ecosystem. New podcast series have been launched by actor Soha Ali Khan with All About Her, and former Indian tennis player Sania Mirza’s Serving It Up have joined the league of interview style podcasts utilising YouTube as their broadcaster.
Now, the number of podcasts and podcasters have ballooned to a great extent. Former journalist turned creator and host Janice Sequeira has launched several episodes of several podcasts, among them Social Media Star with Janice, Pasandida Ladies, The Healing Circle and more. Media organisations like Hauterrfly, Yuvaa, and Scoopwhoop, among others, have tried their hands at the video podcast format. Hauterrfly’s The Male Feminist, Yuvaa’s BeAManYaar and So What (which ran for very few episodes), made their mark on the YouTube podcast audience with its unconventional subject choices, and clever roster of guests.
Younger influencers and social media personalities have begun making their way into the podcast space, most often adopting a laid back and casual tone and subject with their content — positioning it much like a hangout with friends. Among them are the UnTriggered Podcast, which is run by a group of young male creators and artists led by AminJaz. The group has succeeded in securing sit-downs with lawyer Abha Singh, actor Richa Chadhha, music director Vishal Dadlani, among many others.
Popular creators Sakshi Shivdasani and Naina Bhan have their own podcast Moment of Silence and their audience base of young adult women are more than happy to follow them and their lives on yet another platform. Creators Saumya Sahni and Vagmita Singh offer their unique brand of a similar safe-space for women and girls with their podcast Shut Up We’re Talking, where they often bring on other creators to join in their conversation.
These podcasts work largely on account of the video medium, as their capital lies in the guests they invite, and the camaraderie they are able to share with the said guest during the course of their conversation. With parallel personas on social media, having a filmed tape of the conversation helps to create publicity material in the form of reels and shorts, which will keep the audiences guessing.