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One factor behind President-elect Donald Trump’s victory in early November was his campaign’s decision to bet on new media, such as podcasts, rather than rely on legacy networks and paid advertising.
As 2024 comes to a close, podcasts themselves continue to pivot from an aural medium to a visual one, redefining the channel, expanding audiences, and giving brands more options to connect with consumers.
Consider The Joe Rogan Experience. While the popular podcast logged nearly 175 million minutes watched on Facebook and YouTube in January, that number increased to more than 1.2 billion in October, when Rogan hosted both Trump and his running mate JD Vance, according to social video intelligence firm Tubular Labs.
The trend, however, isn’t limited to Rogan’s program.
Additional figures show Pod Save America, The Charlie Kirk Show, and The Tucker Carlson Show also attracted more minutes watched throughout the year.
“The growth of podcasts’ video viewership and minutes watched in the lead-up to this year’s election could be a distinct turning point in how consumers opt to take in political news and commentary,†said Jill Nicholson, chief marketing officer of Chartbeat, Tubular Labs’ parent company.
Spotify, too, is embracing the transition to video.
Earlier this month, the streamer revealed the number of creators publishing videos on its platform monthly had grown around 50% compared to 2023. Spotify now hosts more than 300,000 video podcast shows, up from 100,000 in June 2023.
More than simply unlocking new revenue streams, the push to video is partly driven by consumers. According to data analytics firm Morning Consult, the share of U.S. adults who say they prefer listening to podcasts with video has risen from 32% in 2022 to 42% today.
And the bump isn’t just due to the demands of young people, either: Morning Consult found the increased fondness for watching a conversation, as opposed to merely listening to it, spans generations.
Top reasons for this shift in attitude and behavior include the ability to better focus on the show when it’s in a viewable format to seeing the facial expressions of the people participating in the discussion. Access to subtitles and closed captioning are additional benefits.
As Nicholson put it: “Podcasts have a clear power of influence in 2024, and making connections with listeners through the unique advantages of video makes those ties even more personal.â€
