YouTube Courts Podcasters With Multimillion-Dollar Offers.

If Netflix wants to be more like YouTube and offer podcasts, then YouTube can be more like Netflix and offer creators payouts for exclusive access to their shows. That is the dynamic that is apparently playing out as the two video streamers continue to embrace podcasters. Bloomberg reports that YouTube has begun approaching podcasters looking to cut deals that would pay them millions of dollars in exchange for having exclusive access to their video episodes.

No deals have been signed so far, and Bloomberg says the payments to podcasters and other creators would likely not include direct cash pay-outs. Instead, they would be offered roles in major brand deals signed by YouTube. In other cases, the streamer could directly bankroll the production of a series. There is no confirmation from YouTube at this point as conversations are reportedly ongoing with some creators.

The move by YouTube comes as Netflix has ramped up its podcast outreach. Netflix has brought on board several publishers with multimillion dollar guarantees. But in exchange, those shows must make their video episodes exclusive to Netflix and forego the massive reach that YouTube provides.

For shows that do make alliances with Netflix, there can be YouTube consequences. Bloomberg reports the creators are more likely to be shutout of lucrative brand deals for any of their content that remains on YouTube. And they are less likely to be highlighted in YouTube recommendations or marketing.

The blurring lines between YouTube and Netflix have led to growing competition between the two, particularly in the living room. YouTube reported that its viewers watched more than 700 million hours of podcasts on living room devices in October 2025.

Earlier this month, new data from Edison Podcast Metrics showed that 13% of U.S. weekly podcast consumers 13 and older now say they most often use a TV to consume podcasts. That is a 1,200% increase in the past five years. Edison says consumers who say YouTube is the platform they use most often for podcasts are considerably more likely to identify television as their primary podcast device, underscoring how video is changing where podcasts are consumed.