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Spotify’s “nearly 400 million” video-podcast milestone is already out of date. In its third-quarter 2025 earnings disclosure, reported on November 4, 2025, Spotify said nearly 500,000 video-podcast shows were available on the platform and that more than 390 million users had streamed at least one video podcast. At its May 21, 2026 Investor Day, the company updated the audience figure to more than 500 million users.
Those numbers show that video podcasts have become a major part of Spotify’s media strategy. They do not, however, mean that Spotify has 500 million regular video viewers, 500 million full-episode views, or 500,000 active shows.
What Spotify actually announced
The milestone contains three separate measurements:
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- Audience: more than 390 million users had streamed a video podcast, according to Spotify’s Q3 earnings materials.
- Later update: more than 500 million users had streamed a video podcast by May 2026.
The original headline’s word “watched” is shorthand. Spotify’s official wording is “streamed a video podcast.” The figure represents users who streamed at least one video podcast; it is not a measure of total views, viewing hours, average monthly viewers, or complete episodes watched.
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Spotify’s current Partner Program documentation defines a stream for program purposes as an episode or video streamed for at least 60 seconds. Spotify has not established that this exact definition was used for the 390-million or 500-million company-wide audience figures, so the two measurements should not automatically be treated as identical.
Spotify’s video-podcast growth in context
Spotify said in June 2024 that it had more than 250,000 video podcasts and that more than 170 million users had watched one. By Q3 2025, the catalog had grown to nearly 500,000 shows and the cumulative audience to more than 390 million users. By May 2026, the audience figure had passed 500 million.
| Date | Spotify-reported milestone |
|---|---|
| June 28, 2024 | More than 250,000 video podcasts; more than 170 million users had watched one |
| Q3 2025, disclosed November 4, 2025 | Nearly 500,000 video-podcast shows; more than 390 million users had streamed one |
| May 21, 2026 | More than 500 million users had streamed a video podcast |
The comparison suggests rapid expansion, but the dates and wording are not perfectly identical. The catalog figure is a count of shows, while the audience figure is a cumulative count of users. Neither number proves that all listed shows are active or that the users remain regular video-podcast viewers.
Spotify said the 390-million audience figure was up 54% year over year. It also reported that time spent with video content had more than doubled year over year, with video podcasts a major driver. These are company-reported figures, not independently audited measurements of the entire video-podcast market.
Why Spotify is pushing video
Spotify already combines music, podcasts, audiobooks, subscriptions, personalization, and connected-device playback. Its video strategy places filmed podcasts inside that existing ecosystem instead of asking users to move to a separate video service.
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Spotify said video-podcast consumption hours were growing faster than audio-only consumption hours in 2024 and that audiences retained video podcasts at higher rates than audio podcasts. The company later said video-podcast viewers tend to engage more, use more devices, and spend more time across podcasts, music, and audiobooks. That describes multimodal consumption rather than a simple replacement of audio by video.
A listener might watch an interview when a screen is available, then switch to audio while commuting, exercising, or doing chores. Keeping both formats in the same app can make that transition easier.
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- Increasing time spent in the Spotify app.
- Making podcasts more competitive with YouTube.
- Giving creators another route to monetize their work.
- Strengthening the value of Spotify Premium.
- Creating additional advertising inventory.
- Encouraging creators to publish video directly on Spotify.
These are strategic implications of Spotify’s product direction, not a claim that the company has disclosed a single motive for every feature.
What the Partner Program changed
Spotify launched its Partner Program on January 2, 2025, initially in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. The program combines advertising revenue with Premium video revenue for qualifying video streams from Premium users in eligible markets.
According to Spotify’s support documentation, creators receive a 50% share of revenue recognized by Spotify when a Spotify-monetized ad plays in their episodes. That is not the same as receiving 50% of Premium video revenue or a fixed amount per view.
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Premium video revenue is calculated using a proprietary formula that may consider factors including qualifying consumption time, the market where Premium users are registered, the number of Premium users receiving an uninterrupted video experience, and total eligible consumption. Spotify can change the formula, and it should not be treated as a predictable CPM or per-view rate.
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Spotify reported that video-podcast consumption increased by more than 80% after the Partner Program launched. That is an association reported by the company, not proof that the program alone caused the increase.
Who can qualify?
Spotify’s current U.S. support documentation says an eligible show must:
- Be hosted on Spotify for Creators.
- Have a legal address in an eligible market.
- Have at least three published episodes.
- Reach at least 2,000 consumption hours on Spotify in the previous 30 days.
- Reach at least 1,000 audience members on Spotify in the previous 30 days.
Spotify also says a participating show must remain active by publishing an episode and earning at least $10 during any six-month period. Creators must insert at least one ad break in a video episode to qualify for Premium video revenue.
The detailed support page currently lists Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Spotify’s public monetization marketing page still uses the older four-country description, so creators should verify availability in the operational support documentation before making plans.
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Eligibility is based on Spotify-specific audience and consumption data. YouTube views, podcast downloads, Patreon members, and audiences on other platforms do not automatically count.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What creators should make of the numbers
The growth makes Spotify a serious distribution channel for video podcasts, but not necessarily a replacement for every other channel.
Video is most valuable when the format benefits from a screen
Filmed interviews, comedy, sports discussion, commentary, demonstrations, and visually expressive storytelling can gain from facial expressions, reactions, set design, clips, and audience interaction. A simple video version may also help an audio-first show reach viewers who discover podcasts through video.
But filming adds costs: cameras, lighting, storage, editing, captions, thumbnails, clips, and production time. A creator should not assume that uploading video will generate enough Spotify revenue to cover those costs.
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Spotify should usually be one part of a wider strategy
Spotify for Creators is attractive for independent shows that want free hosting, direct Spotify analytics, video publishing, and access to Spotify-specific monetization. A dedicated host such as Buzzsprout or Libsyn may be more suitable for creators who prioritize RSS ownership, multi-platform distribution, or broader hosting infrastructure. Larger publishers may need enterprise platforms such as Megaphone for campaign management, targeting, forecasting, and direct-sold advertising.
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Production services such as Riverside or Descript can simplify remote recording and spoken-word editing, but they do not solve audience acquisition or Partner Program eligibility. Production and distribution remain separate decisions.
Spotify versus YouTube
Spotify is competing with YouTube strategically, but the milestone does not show that Spotify has overtaken it. The platforms have different strengths.
| Area | Spotify | YouTube |
|---|---|---|
| Core identity | Audio, music, podcasts, audiobooks, and subscriptions | Video-first discovery, search, recommendations, and viewing |
| Discovery | Personalized audio and podcast recommendations | Video search, recommendations, clips, channels, and a mature living-room experience |
| Creator strategy | Publish video within an existing podcast and audio relationship | Build a video-native channel and audience |
| Monetization | Ads plus a proprietary Premium video-revenue formula for qualifying creators | A separate video advertising and creator ecosystem |
| Audience behavior | Easy switching between video and audio across Spotify content | Strong fit for screen-based viewing, search, clips, and connected TVs |
For many creators, the practical choice is not Spotify or YouTube. It is whether the show can produce a version suitable for both without allowing production costs and platform dependence to grow faster than the audience.
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1Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute2Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problems3Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesWhat the milestone does not prove
- It does not prove that Spotify has 500 million monthly video viewers.
- It does not mean 500 million users watched complete episodes.
- It does not mean nearly 500,000 video podcasts are active or popular.
- It does not show how many streams were monetized.
- It does not reveal the average revenue earned by a creator.
- It does not establish that Spotify has displaced YouTube.
- It does not prove that video is replacing audio.
The most defensible conclusion is narrower: Spotify has built a large video-podcast catalog, hundreds of millions of users have tried the format, and the audience figure continued rising after the November 2025 milestone.
Quick Recap
Sources
- Spotify: 250,000 Video Podcasts and Counting
- Spotify Q3 2025 earnings prepared remarks
- Spotify Investor Day podcast update
- Spotify Partner Program requirements
- TechCrunch report on Spotify’s Q3 milestone
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