Alphabet Inc.‘s (NASDAQ:GOOG) (NASDAQ:GOOGL) YouTube revealed that it has reached over 1 billion monthly active viewers of podcast content, thus outperforming Spotify Technology SA (NYSE:SPOT).
What Happened: In a blog post published on Thursday, YouTube said it is now the most popular service for podcast listening in the U.S. It added that last year, viewers spent over 400 million hours each month watching podcasts on living room devices.
YouTube’s distinctive search and recommendation features have simplified the process for users to discover new podcasts. Additionally, the platform has broadened its revenue-sharing program, the YouTube Partner Program, to accommodate more podcasters.
Research from Edison Podcast Metrics in October indicated that about 31% of weekly podcast listeners in the U.S. favor YouTube, compared to 27% for Spotify and 15% for Apple Podcasts by Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL). This surge in growth occurred after Google Podcasts was discontinued in mid-2024.
Celebrating YouTube’s 20th anniversary on Feb 11, CEO Neal Mohan pledged to introduce more tools to assist podcasters and enhance monetization for creators. The platform also intends to further simplify podcast discovery for users.
Why It Matters: The platform’s success in the podcast sector further underscores its growing influence and potential for increased revenue generation. It is noteworthy that with 1 billion monthly podcast listeners, YouTube has surpassed Spotify’s count of 675 million monthly active users in 2024.
YouTube recognized podcasts as a trending content format during the pandemic. After investing billions in its podcasting segment, Spotify shut its in-house podcast studio, Studio 4 in 2022 and laid off staff. It was during that time that YouTube started offering up to $300,000 to podcasters as an incentive to produce video versions of their shows, stated Bloomberg.
Meanwhile, YouTube remains an integral part of Google’s Service segment. During Alphabet’s fourth quarter results, CEO Sundar Pichai stated, “Our AI-powered Google Cloud portfolio is seeing stronger customer demand, and YouTube continues to be the leader in streaming watchtime and podcasts.” Google’s Service segment contributes over 87% of the company’s total revenue.
Needham analysts estimate that based on a sum-of-the-parts valuation, YouTube is worth $666 billion, or around $54 per share in case Alphabet spins off or separates the highly coveted asset.
The expansion of the YouTube Partner Program also indicates a strategic move to attract more creators and diversify content, which could further boost the platform’s value.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
