Is your media mix feeling a little… quiet? If you’re still treating podcasts as a “lean-back” audio-only channel, you’re missing the biggest vibe shift in digital media. By 2027, podcast ads will account for over 40% of all digital audio advertising. But here’s the kicker: the “audio” part is becoming optional.

Watching Is The New Listening: YouTube Takes the Crown

Forget the old-school image of someone listening while doing chores. Podcast consumption has gone visual. As of 2025, 42% of listeners are “active watchers,” compared to just 28* in 2022. This shift has crowned a new king: YouTube. With 64.2 million listeners projected by 2029, it has decisively outpaced Spotify’s 56.0 million.

The rise of video is also fundamentally changing the economics of the industry. While nearly half (47%) of all podcast ad spending currently flows into the top 500 shows, the shift toward video platforms like YouTube provides a massive opportunity for brands to scale beyond these high-cost, “premium” placements and allow for podcast placements to become more economical. YouTube’s dominance is expected to expand the available inventory for programmatic ads, especially since fewer users on the platform hold ad-free subscriptions compared to Spotify. By 2029, only 25.5% of YouTube listeners are projected to be premium subscribers, leaving a vast majority of the audience reachable through targeted, video-centric ad units

The Generational Divide

Your strategy needs to be as dynamic as your audience. By 2029, Gen Z and Gen Alpha will make up nearly 40% of the total US podcast audience.

• Gen Z is leading the charge: 37% of Gen Z listeners already consume podcasts via video more often than audio.
• The Multi-Device Reality: While 94% of audio listeners use smartphones, 61% of active video watchers are tuning in via their TVs.

The New Playbook: Video or Bust

The industry is scaling fast, with spend expected to hit $4.02 billion by 2029. To win, marketers must look beyond the standard audio spot.

Don’t just buy units; buy attention. Incorporate video-based spots on platforms like Spotify, but the real power move is leveraging YouTube. By using curated contextual and behavioral targeting on YouTube, you can place your brand directly in front of audiences who aren’t just listening—they’re watching every frame.

At Arm Candy, we see this ad attention translate to action with not only lower CPMs than other podcast platforms like iHeart, Spotify and Pandora, but high CTRs as well.

The future of podcasting isn’t just a soundbite; it’s a full-screen experience. Are you ready for your close-up?

Source: The Podcast Advertising Opportunity, January 2026, eMarketer