Reuters Study Suggests Video Revolution May Be Overstated For News Podcasts.

For an industry increasingly consumed with the rise of video podcasting, a new Reuters Institute study suggests the shift may be less about replacing audio — or dramatically expanding audience reach — and more about giving existing podcast consumers another way to engage with familiar shows.

The report finds that most news podcast users continue moving fluidly between audio and video depending on context, with listening still dominating many everyday use cases even as YouTube, Spotify and Apple aggressively push video formats. “Video is not replacing audio but rather that it is ‘expanding the tent,’” the report says.

The shift toward video podcasting is being driven most aggressively in the U.S., where audiences appear significantly more comfortable consuming podcasts as a visual medium. The report points to Edison Research data showing that 26% of Americans age 12 and older now both watch and listen to podcasts weekly — double the number who only listen to audio podcasts. Just 6% are exclusively video podcast consumers. Researchers say that dynamic suggests video is broadening podcast engagement rather than replacing traditional listening.

Many respondents said video creates a stronger emotional connection with hosts through facial expressions, body language and visual interaction. “I think the video, you kind of see the emotions, you see what they’re wearing, you see what’s going on, you see their surroundings… you can kind of see the emotions better,” one 31-year-old U.S. respondent told researchers.

The study argues that overlap between video and audio audiences is significant, suggesting many consumers are simply shifting formats throughout the day rather than abandoning audio altogether.

Researchers found podcast users often default to video at home, particularly on connected TVs or YouTube, but return to audio while commuting, exercising, walking, cooking, or multitasking. One U.S. respondent told researchers that while working remotely from home, consumption was “about 80% listening to video,” but when away from home it flipped to “80% audio.”

The report suggests news podcasts may also be less naturally suited for video than other podcast genres. While respondents said visuals can help explain complex stories or breaking news events, many viewed video as more valuable for entertainment, comedy, lifestyle and personality-driven programming than for straightforward news analysis.

“With news I’m only interested in the facts or the story and not invested in the particular content creator itself,” one UK participant told researchers. “Whereas with other genres I would probably say I enjoy visualizing the content itself, as I am more invested in the individual content creator or the guests.”

Video Becomes A Discovery Engine 

The Reuters Institute report suggests one of the biggest advantages of video podcasting may not be changing how audiences consume news content, but rather how they discover it in the first place. Publishers interviewed for the study repeatedly described video as a top-of-funnel audience acquisition tool powered by recommendation algorithms, social sharing and short-form clips distributed across social media.

“The discovery mechanisms for video are much better,” Nina Lassam, VP of Audio and Video Shows at The New York Times, said in the report. “Video as a medium is extremely personable and transferrable. People share clips on Instagram, on TikTok, and on YouTube Shorts. I think the audience is new, and I think it is bigger.”

The study says publishers increasingly view video clips and social distribution as critical at a time when attracting younger audiences through traditional websites and apps has become more difficult. Reuters found many publishers are now designing podcast workflows around multiple outputs — including full video episodes, short-form social clips, transcripts and written stories — with the goal of widening the discovery funnel and creating more entry points into a broader media brand.

But the study also finds many news organizations are being selective about which formats actually move to video.

The New York Times, for example, has added video versions of shows like “Hard Fork,” “Popcast” and “The Ezra Klein Show,” while keeping flagship daily news podcast “The Daily” primarily audio-first. Reuters says publishers increasingly view conversational and personality-led podcasts as easier and cheaper to adapt into video than heavily produced narrative or documentary formats.

“There’s a lot of concentration in the podcast industry in the United States and a higher volume of conversational shows being published vs. limited series,” Lassam said.

Even some of the industry’s most successful video podcast operators acknowledge audio still dominates consumption for many established news properties. Goalhanger told Reuters that only about 10% to 15% of YouTube consumption for “The Rest is Politics” is actually in video despite the show’s massive profile and YouTube presence.

The findings come as publishers across the industry accelerate investments in video podcasting, largely in response to platform changes at YouTube, Spotify and Apple. Reuters says many publishers now see video as essential for discovery, audience acquisition and social distribution — particularly among younger consumers who spend significant time on social media.

But the study also finds many news organizations are being selective about which formats actually move to video.