This is where podcasting is headed

I'm still hearing too many folks in the podcast industry say: "Nobody is watching these video podcasts," or "video podcasts are too expensive to create."But the reality I'm seeing is:Many podcasters are already recording video (on Zoom, Riverside, and Squadcast).It's natural for them to want to upload the video to YouTube (and attract an audience there), AND keep distributing audio to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pocket Casts, Overcast, etc. I think this is the new normal.Peter Mansbridge is proof. His show "The Bridge" is pulling in 150,000 YouTube views per episode. Bad lighting. Cheap cameras. Three people on a Zoom call. No production crew, no editor, no studio.And... he's not sacrificing his audio audience either: 1,600+ reviews on Apple Podcasts, 673+ on Spotify.He records once, uploads the same video/audio recording to every platform, and reaches his audience "wherever they get their podcasts."The podcast industry keeps debating whether video is "real podcasting" or too expensive to produce. Meanwhile, creators are just recording their Zoom calls, uploading to YouTube, and audiences are showing up.On LinkedIn, Paul Riismandel commented:"The thing I've observed – and it's totally just human nature – is that it's challenging to understand the audience's new consumption behaviors and preferences when it doesn't match one's own. But the podcast audience is broader, more diverse, and younger than a decade ago. I received so much pushback three years ago when we first observed YouTube becoming the most preferred podcast platform. Today we're seeing that the smart TV is on the verge of being the 2nd most used device for podcasts in North America and elsewhere. Yet, I get presented with a lot of skepticism when I share that view with folks in the industry, despite having three separate studies all point in that direction. The primary objection I hear is that someone just can't wrap their head around watching podcasts in TV because they don't do it (and likely don't know someone who does)."At Transistor, we'll be moving to this model: creators will upload their video file, and we handle the rest (syndicate to YouTube, encode to HLS for Apple Podcasts, distribute via RSS to Pocket Casts, Overcast, and every open podcast app).Creators and audiences want to consume podcast-like content on YouTube (still unclear if they want video content on Spotify/Apple). Much of that is due to YouTube's algorithm and distribution muscle. Regardless, that's the reality on the field right now.Links:The Bridge podcast on YouTubeTransistor – the best podcast hosting and distribution platform