YouTube is growing fast on TVs, and podcasts are leading the charge

Over the past decade, podcasts have exploded in popularity, and for many people, having one playing while they work, commute, or unwind has become second nature. While apps like Spotify and Apple Podcasts remain popular platforms for listening, YouTube has emerged as one of the biggest destinations for podcasts, offering both audio and video. And according to the latest numbers, it just had its biggest year for podcasts yet.

In a recent blog post, YouTube revealed that 2025 marked one of the strongest years ever for podcasts on the platform, specifically on TVs. According to YouTube, viewers watched more than 700 million hours of podcasts on living room devices by October 2025, nearly double the previous year’s viewing time.

“The living room just continues to be this amazing bright spot in terms of consumption,” said Steve McLendon, YouTube’s head of podcast products, speaking to Bloomberg. “We knew video would be big for podcasting, but it continues to surprise us how big it is.”

Earlier this year, YouTube announced that TV has surpassed mobile devices as the primary way people watch YouTube in the US, and that viewers worldwide now watch more than one billion hours of YouTube on their TVs each day.

YouTube is one of the largest streaming platforms in the US

It recently updated its TV app with a new watch screen

According to Nielsen data, YouTube remains one of the largest streaming platforms in the US. In its November 2025 report, streaming accounted for 46.7 percent of total TV viewership, with YouTube leading all streaming services at 12.9 percent, followed by Netflix at 8.3 percent. So seeing YouTube’s podcast numbers explode on TV might not be all that surprising, given that more and more people are tuning in to YouTube at night on their TVs, replacing traditional cable and broadcast TV.

“With podcasting and YouTube and discovery on television, there is no limit to potential late night shows,” McLendon told Bloomberg.

Recently, YouTube updated its TV watch page to make it a “more intuitive experience with easier navigation.” As part of the update, YouTube rearranged several on-screen user interface elements while a video is playing, making it easier to view a video’s description, read comments, and explore more content from the channel. These changes began rolling out to the YouTube TV app in early December.

In its blog post, YouTube says it will continue to develop “more ways to enjoy podcasts” on the platform in 2026, including making it easier for content creators to generate clips from their podcast for their audiences to watch.

It’s worth noting that other platforms like Spotify have also started leaning into video, with Spotify announcing in November that it now has half a million video podcasts that have been watched by almost 400 million people (via TechCrunch).

In other YouTube-related news, the streaming giant recently announced it will have the exclusive global rights to The Oscars starting in 2029, after signing a multi-year deal with the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The first Oscars to debut on YouTube will be the 101st Oscars Ceremony in 2029, and the deal runs through 2033.