The YouTube-Netflix video podcast wars are heating up, to the delight of podcasters. Netflix is announcing deals for exclusive video podcasts on its platform early next year, people familiar with the plans told Semafor.
In recent months, the company has ramped up talks with most major podcast companies and top talent. It’s expected to roll out more video podcasts in the culture and wellness space, as well as additional shows in categories like sports and crime, which will pair well with Netflix priorities like live sports broadcasts and true crime documentaries.
One example: Last week, Netflix announced that Barstool Sports will put three shows exclusively on Netflix, and iHeartMedia will begin licensing video for popular podcasts including My Favorite Murder, The Breakfast Club, and Dear Chelsea with Chelsea Handler, among others. The shows join a host of Ringer podcasts whose video rights are, as of earlier this year, exclusive to Netflix.
The video rights deals demonstrate that Netflix is serious about sinking at least a little bit of money into cheap, timely content for the platform — though it remains to be seen whether anyone will watch podcasts on Netflix instead of, say, Stranger Things or a movie about a woman who dresses up as Santa to get her daughter discounted snowboarding lessons (one of the top films on the platform for several weeks). At the very least, it’s a convenient time for Netflix to be seen as in competition with YouTube, as the company is expected to make its case to federal regulators that it is not creating a monopoly in streaming by buying Warner Bros. Discovery.