2025 in Podcasting: A Year of Reckoning
2025 was a year of big shifts and even bigger headlines. We saw companies close, new ventures launch, and familiar players rebrand or pivot. Video podcasts continued to grow, bringing shows to streaming platforms, theaters, and even the Golden Globes stage. Revenue models evolved, AI loomed large, and creators explored new ways to connect with audiences, from premium content to live events and derivative IP.
Despite all the change, the podcasting community remains vibrant, and many companies reported record revenues. Optimism is high, and opportunities for creators are abundant—whether you’re experimenting with video, exploring new formats, or building the next breakout show.
Our guests had some thoughts of their own. The below is excerpted from our Podcast Predictions episode of Podcast Perspectives – make sure to tune in to hear everything our guests have on their minds. If you enjoy this article, please subscribe to the show and our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn.
Podcast Perspectives is the Signal Award-winning show about the latest news in the podcast industry and the people behind it. We began publishing in 2023, and since then, we’ve had 86 industry leaders on the show—almost all of whom are CEOs or executives of podcast companies. In this special episode, we invited 22 former guests to reflect on this past year and share how they’re feeling as we enter 2026. They also share plenty of helpful advice for creators and new podcasters.
Adam McNeil, SVP of Client Services at Adopter Media
Podcast Perspectives episode: Adopter Media SVP of Client Services Adam McNeil on the Math Problem Behind Podcast Ads, June 10, 2025
Adam remains bullish on podcast advertising: “But only for people who actually know what they’re doing. The medium itself is still unmatched. A host-read ad from someone the audience actually trusts, still can move product better than most algorithmic platforms like Meta or YouTube.
But the industry itself, it’s still in an awkward teenager phase. Too many middlemen. Too much smoke and mirrors and way too little accountability. Everybody’s still obsessed with downloads, which isn’t a very verifiable number. We’re going to move into listens. That’s going to be way more important for the future of this industry.”
Alexia Bedat, Partner at Klaris Law
Podcast Perspectives episode: Unlocking Podcast Legalities: Klaris Law’s Alexia Bedat, February 19, 2025
Alexia is feeling both excited and challenged about the industry going into 2026: “I say these two things because the deal making space is getting increasingly more complex, nuanced, and requires much more creativity in order to get a deal done. We will, I think, increasingly see rights that are held on a non-exclusive basis by multiple parties. I think the role of business negotiators and lawyers is going to be to set those really clear roadmaps for these increasingly complicated and interesting relationships.”
Amanda McLoughlin, CEO of Multitude Productions
Podcast Perspectives episode: Podcasting with Purpose: Multitude’s Amanda McLoughlin, April 1, 2025
Amanda feels energized and hopeful about 2026: “I feel like in 2025, a lot of us took stock of what we’ve been doing for a decade plus in some cases, and what we want to be doing moving forward in a world where entertainment, media, and access to news has all become even more important and fraught than it’s ever been.
I think podcasting is a really unique opportunity to bring people together and build community in digital spaces, even for local in-person impact. So I am excited about the community building that we will be doing at Multitude in 2026, and I’m excited to see what my colleagues in the podcast industry will be making with so many tools at our disposal.”
Bryan Barletta, Partner at Sounds Profitable
Podcast Perspectives episode: Sounds Profitable’s Bryan Barletta on Building an Audio Industry, November 8, 2023
Bryan feels that podcasting as an industry has never been stronger: “There’s more opportunity for small teams than in any other industry I’ve seen. At the same time, inbound work and easy projects have kind of dried up.
While the word [podcast] may be used for more than we originally defined it for, at its core, it still means audio forward, creator owned, and on demand. Podcasting is allowing us to revisit ideas creators and influencers have tried before that have failed and finding greater success this time around. I really believe that podcasting strength lies in the comfort of repeating our value for the 17th time, with the enthusiasm of it being the first time.”
Cathy Csukas, CEO of AdLarge Media
Podcast Perspectives episode: AdLarge Media CEO Cathy Csukas on Ad Tech and Women in Audio, September 2, 2025
Cathy feels that 2025 has been an amazing year of growth and learning and 2026 will be an explosive, transformative year of success: “The current state of the podcast industry reflects this. Innovation remains a daily requirement. Keep up or get left behind. I say it all the time. I believe also a key trend is collaboration.
We’re seeing it everywhere. Companies are partnering and coming together for greater outcomes. Collaboration is constant and helps the industry evolve. In 2026, we will see podcasters and brands leaning in more heavily on an omnichannel strategy. Podcasters are evolving into their own brand empires, and all I can see is growth in audience, creative new ways to partner with brands, and expanding revenue streams.”
Dusty Weis, President of Podcamp Media
Podcast Perspectives episode: Running a Small but Mighty Podcast Operation with Podcamp Media’s Dusty Weis, February 7, 2024
Dusty sees 2026 as an inflection point for the industry because of the push to outsource the role of podcast host to AI: “We know why they’re doing it—because humans are expensive and wouldn’t it be great if we could just monetize the output of an algorithm? But that doesn’t benefit listeners, it doesn’t benefit society, and it does not benefit the podcast industry. We all get a smaller pot of ad revenue for those who take the time to create quality programming.
We get fewer well-paying jobs and the very few new jobs that this creates—managing the AI prompts for thousands of AI podcast bots—can you imagine a less fulfilling, more meaningless existence? The question becomes, is this an issue that motivates the leaders in our industry to stand up and say, ‘no thanks.’”
Fatima Zaidi, Founder & CEO of Quill & CoHost
Podcast Perspectives episode: How to Create a Podcast Interview That Doesn’t Suck, January 1, 2025
Fatima thinks that in 2026 we’ll see more business leaders stepping into podcasting to share ideas, build thought leadership, and connect with audiences who follow people, not just friends: “Audiences are definitely drawn to authenticity. We’ve already seen research that shows 70% of consumers feel more connected when a CEO is active in content, and 72% of consumers feel similarly when employees share information about that brand online. With that in mind, leaders who step away from the logo and the sales pitch and prioritize audience first content offering value, insight, and connection will really earn loyalty far beyond what any campaign or ad could possibly achieve.”
Harry Morton, CEO of Lower Street Media
Podcast Perspectives episode: A New Kind of B2B Podcasting with Harry Morton, August 23, 2023
Harry is feeling hopeful about what 2026 will hold for the industry: “The closures and the layoffs that we’ve seen this year have been horrendous and the pain of that’s been felt across the industry. But as we look ahead, I see a lot of reasons to be cheerful.
I think we can look at the IAB announcement of us hitting that 3 billion mark [as proof]. There’s some discussion as as to whether that’s a growth in audio podcasting or whether that’s sort of incremental lift as a result of the YouTube side, but regardless, it’s brands investing more money into what they are calling podcasting, which can only be a good thing for all of us, or at least for most of us.”
Jessica Cordova Kramer, CEO & Founder of Lemonada Media
Podcast Perspectives episode: Lemonada Media CEO Jessica Cordova Kramer on the State of the Network, November 1, 2023
Jessica remains optimistic about the year ahead: “2026 on the business side is going to become the year of sustainability and profitability and trying to really figure out how to make things work for everyone. I’m probably biased, running a company that has to do that anyway, but more than ever, I think that that will be incredibly important and making shows that are viable from day one and the costs align with the potential profits wherever they may come from.
Which leads me to what I think is going to be the theme of 2026, which is community. People really want to vibe with other people who love their shows. And so I think we’ll all be building out exciting ways to do that, whether it’s the tried and true live events or digital engagement.”
Katie Konans, Head of Digital Outreach at NASA+
Podcast Perspectives episode: NASA Program Lead for Audio and Podcasts Katie Konans on Connecting NASA to the Outside World, May 13, 2025
Katie is hopeful about the shifts she’s seeing in the industry: “The old model was to inform the public, but the new model is really to invite them into the process. Across the industry, we’re starting to see brands and major media distributors change the game by thinking of audiences less as consumers and more as collaborators.
I think podcasting is going to be less about the medium and more about what makes this craft so significant, and that really is our unique ability to connect with audiences, foster real learning, and really create space for honest conversation—which I think a lot of people are really craving right now. What excites me most. Is the rise of multidisciplinary storytelling. This is where real curiosity takes root, and that’s where the magic begins.”
Leah Reis-Dennis, Head of Podcasts at Audacy
Podcast Perspectives episode: Audacy Head of Podcasts Leah Reis-Dennis on Making Major Deals in Audio, August 5, 2025
Leah is feeling good about the year ahead: “There are still a lot of brands who aren’t spending in podcasting, and even if we do face economic headwinds, we know that podcasting and audio in general have proven time and again to be excellent investments for brands.
On the content side, there will always be new talent to develop, existing talent who want to get into podcasting, and new audiences who discover the shows we already have on our slate. I find it interesting looking ahead to see how the major networks might attempt to differentiate themselves and refine their content strategy.
I think that increasingly not every network will make sense for every category of show, so I’m keeping an eye on whether clear lanes will start to form. For instance, heading into 2026 Audacy is really focused on growing our sports portfolio. So we hope that when a major sports talent wants to develop a podcast, the question isn’t just which network will give me the most money, but which network is really best positioned across its assets to be a true partner here.”
Odile Beniflah, Head of U.S. at Ausha
Podcast Perspectives episode: Bringing SEO to Podcasting with Ausha’s Odile Beniflah, May 29, 2024
Odile also feels optimistic about what’s in store: “First, we are seeing a major shift. Podcasting is no longer this closed ecosystem debating RSS feeds or definitions. After the podcast election last year, people realized how much podcasting is shaping our culture and opinions brands and organizations that understand the power of podcasting. Our world is ruled by five second videos designed to trigger emotions and podcasting brings us back to real conversation, listening, reflection, open dialogue, and trust. That’s something our society really needs.
Second, audience growth has become everyone’s priority—creators, brands, networks, agencies. We see a growing interest for organic marketing, which is growth without paid ads, which can be so powerful. It’s not yet well understood, but the interest is there, and that’s where AI comes in. With AI, you can generate hyper accurate transcriptions of your show, which becomes the foundation for all the marketing content, your titles, descriptions, tags, newsletters, social media, even your podcast website. All this optimization is organic growth in action and concrete steps that any podcaster can take to grow the audience.”
Gretta Cohn, CEO of Pushkin Industries
Podcast Perspectives episode: The Journey to CEO with Gretta Cohn of Pushkin Industries, October 16, 2024
Gretta sees untapped opportunities in the space: “Something that I’m keeping my eye on is that podcasts will become the next wave of bestselling books. Many podcast companies were built on the promise of IP development, in particular to TV and film. But if you’re not considering books and audiobooks as part of this pipeline, you’re missing out. I think 2026 will be the year that we see more podcasts and podcasters stepping into the book space.
There is some overlap between podcast and audiobook listeners, but if we can bring them closer together creatively, it opens up new storytelling opportunities. From a business standpoint, it diversifies monetization. It literally just makes sense to sell a product direct-to-consumers, and it can open the door to more discovery through podcasts.”
Eric Barnett, VP of Revenue at Supporting Cast
Podcast Perspectives episode: Monetizing Audio: Ads, Subscriptions, and Audiobooks with Eric Barnett, August 16, 2023
Eric predicts that community will be the defining theme for podcast subscriptions in 2026: “That is the hot word that we’re hearing right now in the subscription space. I think you’re going to be hearing that a lot more from people that are looking to set up paid subscriptions, and I think it is the right direction to go for podcasting as a whole.
But, I will say, buyer beware. It does take a little bit more work than I think people are used to, to cultivate that community. My personal belief is that most indie shows will probably see success with setting up a community and having community benefits like user forums, as long as they’re willing to engage with that community.”
Lex Friedman, Founder of Lex Friedman Consulting
Podcast Perspectives episode: Podcast Veteran Lex Friedman on the Podcast Industry’s Evolution, September 30, 2025
Lex is feeling good, but not great, about what lies ahead in 2026: “The biggest challenge facing the industry overall is that it’s really hard to scale host-read ads, which are far and away the most effective ads. I don’t object to pre-produced spots. I don’t object to programmatic ads, but they have to be sprinkled in. They have to be like a seasoning. You can’t put too much garlic on the food, or nobody wants to eat it.
So those host read ads are so effective and so compelling, and they can be so lucrative, but they’re tough to scale. It’s hard for a sales team to know every show in a portfolio of 200 shows and sell host-reads for all of them. All this is to say, I’m nervous about the industry, but I’m not panicky.”
Chris Peterson, VP of Business Development at Red Seat Ventures
Podcast Perspectives episode: The Bull Case for Podcasting with DWNLOAD Media’s Chris Peterson, February 21, 2024
Chris, on the other hand, is feeling incredibly awesome: “I think the last couple of years we’ve seen companies focus on creating sustainable business models centered around profitability. And now those companies are in a position to start scaling in a smart way. That may mean that they’re going to scale themselves organically, or maybe they’re acquired or they start acquiring companies.
I think that a lot of companies in 2026 will start focusing on more than just content. But most importantly, I think there’s never been a better time to be a creator and forget about the word podcaster. You’re really just creating the next wave of media.”
Dan Misener, Co-Founder of Bumper
Podcast Perspectives episode: Bumper Co-Founder Dan Misener on the Death of the Download, October 28, 2025
Dan’s unique insight into the rising performance of shows on Bumper is making him optimistic: “When we look at the number of people listening to podcasts and watching podcasts, that number’s going up. When I look at the number of times people hit play and the frequency with which they come back, that’s also going up. And when I look at the total amount of time spent with the shows that Bumper works with, it’s headed in the right direction.”
Pete Birsinger, CEO of Podscribe
Podcast Perspectives episode: Where to Start With Advertising Attribution in Podcasting with Pete Birsinger and Cameron Hendrix, December 4, 2024
Pete says he’s feeling great about podcasting, especially having seen the way the industry has grown up over the last two years: “There’s still a long way to go, but culturally, podcasts are as exciting and as relevant as ever. Everyone saw the huge impact podcasts had in the 2024 election. More and more today, almost everybody knows how valuable podcasts can be in getting information, being educated, and just passing a long drive or a tedious errand with long-form content.
It is, ironically enough, harder than ever to actually define a podcast with the explosion of video on both Spotify and YouTube. That is one of the biggest challenges that the industry faces right now, both in terms of how to serve ads to different video platforms, how to upload content, how to count impressions, and how to measure those impressions.
I think in 2026 we’re going to come closer than ever to solving many of those problems. There’s a lot of opportunity to bring the space to the next level, and I think we’re going to get there in 2026.”
Sean Howard, CEO of Flightpath Software
Podcast Perspectives episode: The Power of Predictive Podcast Analytics with Flightpath’s Sean Howard, June 26, 2024
Sean is also feeling great about 2026: “I think we saw the move into the space of new money and new spending by traditional brands. We’ve also seen a significant shift into video. That has been really great.”
Sharon Taylor, Chief Revenue Officer at Triton Digital
Podcast Perspectives episode: What Do Podcast Hosting Companies Actually Do? with Sharon Taylor, August 9, 2023
Sharon is positive and ready for the challenges ahead in 2026: “I think revenue is up and going to continue growing. Usage is up and going to continue growing. You know you’re doing something right as an industry when three or more huge tech titan platforms all want to get involved and fight for an audience. I really want us, as an industry, to figure out video—both delivery and monetization.
I think that’s one of the big challenges that we’re going to have to grapple with, but I know we can do it because we did it for audio. The most important thing for podcasting is to remain open and available for the entire ecosystem.”
Tom Webster, Partner at Sounds Profitable
Podcast Perspectives episode: Finding Your Audience: Sounds Profitable’s Tom Webster, February 5, 2025
Tom is feeling pretty optimistic as we head into 2026: “I think what many people perceived as a problem – and what we couldn’t really nail – is a definition of podcasting. [But] I think it’s a tremendous opportunity for us, if you have a tolerance for ambiguity. Because those definitions are so messy, I think we get to call a lot of things podcasting. And that means we can claim more territory. I think that means we need to be smarter about how we measure the industry. I’m not talking about downloads. I’m talking about the size. I’m talking about the money that goes into the industry. So, I’m very, very bullish on podcasting. I think we’re going to claim a lot of territory in 2026.”
Rebecca Lavoie, Director of On Demand Audio at New Hampshire Public Radio
Podcast Perspectives episode: An Opportunity for Public Radio with NHPR’s Rebecca Lavoie, August 30, 2023
Rebecca has mixed feelings, as usual: “I’m excited about narrative audio. I see huge opportunities given all of the consolidation, layoffs, and lack of prioritization of narrative. Places like public media can do an incredible job filling a real need for audio journalism. As for video, I used to be a little more down on it, but I’ve come to realize that if I were building my own shows, like Crime Writers On, or These are Their Stories today, they would one hundred percent either be video first or video.
But I don’t think every show is suited for video. I don’t think narrative is suited for video. I don’t think some interview shows are particularly suited for video (although many are). But I’m excited about the growing opportunities for video-first podcasts and what that seems to be doing to stimulate the indie creator community. So I hope people do it, but I hope they also pay attention to what makes a good podcast—like knowing who it’s for, making it interesting, and, if you can, doing a little editing.”
What are your podcast predictions for 2026? And what did you think about the predictions from 2025?
Share your opinions on LinkedIn and tag The Podglomerate and use the hashtag #PodcastPredictions2026. We’ll like and share your thoughts!
This article is excerpted The below is excerpted from our Podcast Predictions episode of Podcast Perspectives – make sure to tune in to hear everything our guests have on their minds. If you enjoy this article, please subscribe to the show and our newsletter, and follow us on LinkedIn.
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