The Mic Is the New Screen
This post was prompted when I read Netflix just signed a partnership to stream Spotify’s video podcasts starting in 2026. I’ve watched the indie audio content space transform over the last few years, and it’s insane how fast the landscape has changed.
When I was deep in network TV, podcasts were this scrappy audio thing that lived completely outside what we were making. Commuters listened. Joggers listened. People doing dishes listened. The format had a quiet intimacy that TV could never quite match.
Podcasts work via the “voice in the ear” effect. Listening through headphones makes hosts feel like friends. They speak in an unfiltered, conversational way that scripted formats rarely achieve, creating strong parasocial bonds. The loyal, recurring relationships advertisers dream about. The best podcast hosts know they’re speaking to one person at a time, even as millions listen.
That intimacy remains. But now? The entire medium is going visual, and it’s starting to compete directly with the kind of shows I spent decades working on. Global podcast audiences passed 500 million in 2025, edging out Netflix in reach. Spotify doubled down on studio deals. The audio format built the audience. The video layer is capturing the revenue of the attention economy.
For podcasts to grow, video has become the differentiator. This new hybrid format borrows the intimacy from audio and visual grammar from Twitch and YouTube. Today’s top shows resemble TV talk series, late-night sets, or casual streaming sessions.
This isn’t bad news for audio aficionados. It’s a new creative territory. When I worked on Lost and Heroes, we were designing stories for the traditional TV screen while having fun expanding our narratives across platforms via transmedia experiments.
You can build screenlife hybrids, narrative podcasts layered with visual elements like video calls, surveillance feeds, or in-world broadcasts. Or character-hosted shows where fictional voices take the mic, expanding world-building between story beats. Docu-fiction formats that blend investigation with scripted drama give audiences multiple entry points. And there’s the writer-host path: stepping up to the mic and camera yourself, turning your storytelling voice into a direct brand.
The barrier to creating your own thing, your own voice, your own world, has never been lower. The trick is designing with both ear and eye in mind from day one. Writers who understand character, rhythm, and structure already have an edge. You don’t need a network greenlight to start a conversation with the audience.
Nor do you need an insane level of polish. Audiences respond to authenticity. Stumbles, tangents, vulnerable moments, and genuine reactions make a podcast feel alive. So, if you’re thinking about breaking into podcasting, ask yourself:
What story or persona do I want to bring into someone’s ears?
What visual layer will make that story impossible to scroll past?
Nail those and you’ve got the foundation of a modern show. For screen scribblers, don’t think of the video podcast as a passing trend, ancillary to your narrative. It’s the new baseline with an undeniably awesome ROI and exciting creative opportunities.
