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PIVOT TO VIDEO

In the world of podcasts, YouTube is now the elephant in the room — just like in TV

Podcasts are increasingly YouTube ft. everyone else — even tech giants like Amazon are restructuring to favor video-first podcasts led by hosts with big personalities.

Claire Yubin Oh

8/6/25 10:12AM

Earlier this week, Amazon announced it would be restructuring its Wondery podcast business as the landscape increasingly shifts toward host-centric, video-integrated shows.

About 110 staff will be cut from the move, as first reported by Bloomberg, including the division’s CEO, Jen Sargent. Wondery’s existing narrative-driven studio and series will be moved under Amazon’s Audible banner, while personality-focused shows, like Jason and Travis Kelce’s podcast, “New Heights,” will find a home at Wondery’s new “creator services” team, per a memo shared by Business Insider.

The tech giant has largely allowed Wondery to operate independently since its acquisition in 2020, but the latest reorganization signals that Amazon’s $300 million bet into podcasts is getting more focused.

Podcast yourself

Amazon’s decision comes as the podcast industry reinvents itself. In June, Spotify laid off 5% of staff in its podcast division, while radio conglomerate Audacy shut down its audio-centric podcast business Pineapple Street Studios after nine years.

The elephant in the room of all of this upheaval is YouTube — the silly viral internet video giant that became a TV, music, advertising, and now podcast giant. Per an April survey by Cumulus Media and media research firm Signal Hill Insights, 39% of all weekly podcast consumers use YouTube as their primary platform, more than double the share from late 2019. The video platform estimated that more than a billion people a month are watching podcasts as of February.

Youtube dominates the podcast sphere — Sherwood News

A large part of that domination comes from how podcast listeners across generations now consume the medium differently — nearly three-quarters of the respondents said they watch podcasts more often than listening to podcasts. That’s quite a stat for an “audio” medium.

YouTube’s domination echoes its success in TV — where it is routinely beating out Disney, Netflix, Paramount, and NBCUniversal.

Main character energy

At the heart of those video-integrated podcast shows are big personality hosts like Joe Rogan, Mel Robbins, and Amy Poehler, who, with their charisma and consistent jokes, amass legions of highly engaged, targeted listeners (and watchers).

Indeed, since YouTube started to share the most popular podcast shows on the platform in May, host-centric podcasts have been topping the leaderboard consistently in the US, with six out of the top 10 shows revolving around the host’s persona, according to the latest released weekly top 10 (starting July 21).

Host-centric podcasts dominate the charts — Sherwood News

To get a sense of how much things have changed, think of the viral podcast appearances of the 2024 presidential campaign, with former Vice President Kamala Harris on “Call Her Daddy” and President Donald Trump on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Video? Tick. Personality hosts? Tick. The biggest podcasts of the day being true crime shows are long gone.

These days, podcasts are things you can watch, listen, or multitask to — a bit like the late-night talk show format that is, ironically, struggling so much on linear TV.

Millie Giles14h

JM Smucker says it sold $1 billion worth of Uncrustables in FY2026

After years of booming sandwich sales, JM Smucker has finally earned a billion-dollar crust.

On Tuesday, the company reported results for fiscal year 2026, highlighting better-than-expected profits driven by higher prices for coffee and sweet baked goods. However, at another point on the earnings call, CEO Mark Smucker pointed to one particularly jammy figure: in line with previous forecasts, it managed to sell $1 billion worth of its (almost always) crustless sandwiches, Uncrustables, in the last year alone.

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Paramount reportedly offers concessions to resolve multistate antitrust investigation

Paramount has reportedly offered up some concessions in an effort to prevent an antitrust lawsuit by California and about 10 other states, according to Bloomberg reporting on Monday.

Reuters first reported on the potential suit from a group of unnamed states last week, which could throw a wrench in Paramount’s plans to buy rival Warner Bros. Discovery in a Hollywood megamerger.

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

Paramount Offers Concessions to Head Off State Antitrust Lawsuit

The list of concessions is unknown, though Bloomberg previously reported that Paramount is open to divesting some of its kids TV assets to appease EU regulators.

Late last month, reports said US regulators appeared likely to approve the $110 billion merger, following a meeting between Paramount CEO David Ellison and DOJ antitrust staffers.

$98B ⛽

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The IATA released its latest financial outlook for the airline industry over the weekend, forecasting a $98 billion jump in the sector’s collective fuel bill. The world’s largest trade group representing airlines expects the oil spike to halve profits by 49% from last year to $23 billion.

The group also expects profit margins to halve year over year, falling from 2025’s 4.2% to 2%. Still, revenue is expected to climb to $1.17 trillion from $1.07 trillion.

A surge in the cost of jet fuel has rocked US and global airlines this year, leading Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, American Airlines, Southwest Airlines, JetBlue, and others to raise fares and ancillary charges like bag fees. Low-cost carriers, which operate on smaller margins, have been squeezed the hardest, resulting in Spirit’s shutdown.

“It’s a tough year for all airlines, especially those whose balance sheets had not yet recovered from COVID. And, of course, for those operating in the Gulf,” said IATA Director General Willie Walsh, who added that demand is holding up and about half of passengers expect to spend more on travel this year. “That bodes well for a strong northern summer peak season. The big unknown is how long travelers and shippers can tolerate the higher costs of connectivity.”

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GM has reportedly rehired more than 100 former Cruise employees, 18 months after shuttering the robotaxi unit

GM has rehired more than 100 employees it let go early last year when it shuttered Cruise, its former robotaxi business, according to reporting by The Information.

The hiring spree, which also includes employees from Nvidia and Uber, is geared toward ramping up GM’s plans for personal-use self-driving vehicles and not robotaxis. The former had been the focus of Cruise, prior to GM shuttering it in 2024.

Reporting last fall revealed that GM was attempting to rehire some former Cruise employees, but the scope of that effort wasn’t clear. More than 1,000 employees were laid off when the automaker scrapped Cruise, which it invested $10 billion into.

Google’s Waymo, Cruise’s former chief rival, is now worth $126 billion after a $16 billion funding round earlier this year. The company says it’s serving 500,000 paid robotaxi rides per week in the US.