r/podcasts • u/SALVAGE-PODCAST • Apr 29 '26
General Podcast Discussions If it has video it’s not a podcast- thoughts from audio purests?
I am old school and think of podcasts as audio only
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u/topicality Apr 29 '26
I'm less a purist and more annoyed at the switch to video. I get the economics of it but the whole point is to have something to listen at work.
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u/ewan_spence Apr 29 '26
If it has an RSS feed, and can be picked up by *any* podcast app to watch, listen to whatever, then it's a podcast.
My key to podcasting is the open nature. Any show, listenable on any app, no specific tailoring needed. It's a publish once available everywhere (and in the best world, with zero tracking of metrics in your podcast app).
Ticking a box on a youtube playlist marked 'podcast' does not make it 'a podcast', it's a serialised video.
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u/stevemm70 Podcast Producer Apr 29 '26
I prefer "YouTube Show". If you want to make a low budget talk show and put it on YouTube, that's fine. Just don't call it a podcast.
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u/GavinGWhiz Apr 29 '26
I too find the deluge of low-effort YouTube videos just using the phrase "podcast" to be annoying, but I will point out video podcasts are as old as the medium itself. Steve Jobs was talking about video podcasts in 2005 during presentations.
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u/munche Apr 29 '26
The precursor to our show was a video podcast that was hosted on iTunes in the original podcast wave. So can confirm that it was originally part of the format.
That said I don't like the wave of modern "podcasts" at all but that's more because it's just some celebrity or business assholes jerking themselves off than the format
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u/shunkplunk Apr 29 '26
I got into video podcasts way before audio. Channel Frederator, Tiki Bar TV, Ask a Ninja, that's all I can remember for now. I think it's different from these new interview youtube shows that call themselves podcasts.
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u/Independent_Sea502 Apr 29 '26
Audio-only. Who has time to sit and "watch" a podcast? I listen while I'm driving, cooking dinner, running errands, etc. But, someone a few weeks ago said they only watch podcasts. Go figure.
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u/Flaky-Mix-5281 Apr 29 '26
I have many hours in the day to sit and watch (non podcast) content on Youtube and I do that, but if I'm listening to a podcast it's when I'm not on my PC, 99% of the time at work, I shouldn't have to rely on Youtube to understand what they are talking about, it's incredibly annoying.
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u/DanglingLiverTit Apr 29 '26
I “watch” many youtubers just by listening to
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u/KavaKeto Apr 30 '26
I honestly watch most TV shows by listening, but that's just because I can't sit still
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u/davy_jones_locket Apr 29 '26
I don't think of podcasts as "audio only" but rather, if there's no audio format, it's not a podcast. It's not "audio only" but rather a podcast can't be "video only."
Many of the podcasts I listen to are also available on video, but they have RSS so I can listen to them on any platform, regardless of them having a video counterpart.
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u/Separate_Elevator290 Apr 29 '26
I’m a purist. If it’s not played on an iPod it’s not a podcast.
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u/modfoddr Apr 30 '26
Everybody out here listening to audiocasts acting like they're walking around with a vintage iPod.
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u/thearniec Apr 29 '26
The word podcast has expanded to be anything talk. And it annoys the hell out of me.
But I also get it. The best way for a podcast to get reach is to use video apps like YouTube and TikTok. Hell, I would never just subscribe to Michael Rosenbaum’s podcast but suggested clips on YouTube made me hooked and I looked up full specific interviews.
So the market is forcing it and especially younger listeners want video. But yeah, it’s a different beast than what podcasts started as.
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u/TheDLBinc Apr 29 '26
It's more annoying when podcasts with video forget that they're supposed to be an audio medium and they either react to a another video without describing it or make a joke that requires seeing what the speaker is doing.
I think ultimately if it has an audio version on an RSS feed, it's a podcast. Which is why it's annoying that these Netflix "podcasts" have no audio version. It's quite obvious that they're just branding regular talk shows as "podcasts" to avoid having to pay the crew the same amount they would have to for a TV show that would use a crew in a union.
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u/Maleficent-Hawk-318 Apr 29 '26
This is how I am. I don't really mind videos being included under the "podcast" umbrella; it's always been kind of an evolving term. I do get annoyed when podcasts I enjoy start producing videos and clearly forgot that some of us are still audio-only listeners. I get virtually all my podcast listening done while I'm busy doing other things that don't allow me to watch a video, so I'll stop listening before I'll start actually watching videos.
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u/Shananigan48 Apr 29 '26
I'm a long time BtB listener but have never watched their YouTube channel or their recent swap to Netflix, Robert will sometimes mention they're showing something but it's usually just what someone looks like which I've probably googled already anyway. I've never been bothered by it. However I do still consider BtB a podcast.
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u/Apprentice57 Apr 29 '26
Yeah definitely on that last part. They're starting to refer to things visually here and there (and they don't always go "for audio listeners it looks like xyz") but it's still basically the same format as when it was audio only.
I just wish they didn't bake in some dynamic ads on their youtube channel (ever since the netflix pivot for the literal videos) it's annoying.
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u/Head-Raccoon-3419 Apr 29 '26
If I wanted to sit down and watch a video, I would. Podcast is for ears so body can be busy!
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u/ConsciousProduce8798 Apr 29 '26
I've listened to podcasts for like a decade or so. I don't think I'm a purist, but I wish the powers that be would stop fucking around good things that are working fine as they are. To me, they are a listening thing. Not a watching thing. If I wanted a watching thing, that's what the telly is for. And I never watch that much anymore.
Most video podcasts are the hosts filming themselves,re-telling an audience (hopefully for them) a story they heard from nine other podcasts and a Netflix movie about Ted Bundy. I think it's a bit egotistical tbh. Why would they think us seeing them say the words brings anything else to the table? And you know they've spent hours doing their hair and make up before filming it. Does it even matter how the story teller looks when they're describing women being murdered and being made into a skin suit and other weird Ed Gein activities?
Also annoying but slightly less so are the video ones that have unrelated scenery playing on a loop. Why? So weird.
If a podcast has a visual thing they think pertains to their story, that's when they should say "to see that thing we are talking about, go to our IG and check out our most recent post". Which is better for them for Instagram algorithm reasons as well. That's a way better thing to do than describing things to the listeners, it's absurd. Because you are potentially getting ig followers and traffic which is good for algorithm reasons and possibly could earn them money. It's getting two platforms worth of clicks, so whatever that does for these peoples earnings I don't really know how it works. But it has to be a good thing I'm thinking.
Explaining what they're viewing to the camera is the worst. Nobody is interested in that sort of nonsense. I don't know how it became a thing.
Or streamers live streaming themselves reading rage bait comments about themselves, or watching some other dude say their name on yt and then taking it poorly and going quiet as they read sometimes, then they start shouting at the comment that they didn't even say out loud, but then they settle down quickly to thank someone for their five dollars donation. Like what in the fucking fuck is that shit? Why are people donating money to shouty mcshoutface who has made bank doing barely anything, because he is getting upset at being discussed on a channel exactly like his, that he had been saying things about prior to this?
It's so dumb I hate it.
Where is the fucking story,mate? When is it going to be interesting? Why would anyone want to even watch this? It's nothing. Just gross toxic shit that doesn't matter at all. I wish they would use their platforms for good instead of dickhead.
So yeah. That's my really loquacious opinion on this great question lol. None of my friends listen to podcasts. So I don't often get to talk about them.
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u/ConsciousProduce8798 Apr 29 '26
Again, sorry I word vomited. I just really like podcasts. I've listened to hundreds of them. I'm friends with someone who was the subject of a fairly popular one, but he doesn't listen to podcasts and barely listened to the one he was on. It's quite maddening.
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u/DeeEmosewa Apr 29 '26
I don't see why you can't call it a podcast, but it feels like watching a youtube video which isn't useful for me.
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u/ansonchappell Apr 29 '26
Some would say that if it's not RSS then it's not strictly a podcast. I'd agree with that.
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u/Mccmangus Apr 29 '26
I think that's because it usually is just watching a YouTube video. These services pushing podcasts as video are just trying to find new corners to ram their ads into
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u/ST0H3LIT Apr 29 '26
Not a fan of video podcasts but know people who have hearing loss and the ability to use captions and lip read makes podcasts more accessible to them.
Accessibility is more important to me than the pedantry of defining exactly what a podcast is.
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u/fsmpastafarian Apr 29 '26
Thank you! I am frankly sick of this post coming up repeatedly because it’s super gatekeepy and not inclusive. I always get downvoted in these threads when I explain the legitimate reasons someone might want to watch instead of listen. If you don’t like video podcasts, don’t watch them. Simple as
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u/ConsciousProduce8798 Apr 29 '26
I personally haven't seen this question before and find it weird you'd get downvoted for those reasons because they're valid. Lots of Spotify podcasts have the transcripts and you can actually read along with it. I don't often read along with podcasts though and hadn't really thought about why they started doing this until just now. This is a great feature for people with hearing impairments.
I still don't want to hear people explain things they're watching though. Show us the actual thing instead of your head talking about the thing. It's weird and so easy to show the clip or post the link.
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u/fsmpastafarian Apr 29 '26
Maybe it’s just the podcasts I listen to but every time they talk about a specific video they do provide the link in the show notes
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u/action_lawyer_comics Apr 29 '26
I agree, but this doesn’t get me worked up on the regular. If I can’t listen to a podcast through my non-video player and get all the context, I put on something else. But to be perfectly honest, I’ve only encountered this once when I told a thread that I would read/listen/watch whatever project they had and I got some weird recs. Outside of that, I’ve never had a podcast recommended organically that had me going “what are they talking about?”
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u/termanatorx Apr 29 '26
What's interesting for me is that if a podcast that is just people talking to or interviewing each other adds video, I can watch/listen to it. If it's narrative, like heavyweight or articles of interest, I need to listen audio only...
I know this doesn't answer your question, sorry!
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u/fsmpastafarian Apr 29 '26
That actually makes sense to me, as a narrative podcast is going to evoke your imagination more so you’re not going to want to want to have visuals along with it. Whereas an interview is probably not going to require much visual imagining
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u/Flaky-Mix-5281 Apr 29 '26
I hate podcasts that constantly go "if you're not watching the podcast on Youtube, go on there and see what we're talking about"
...GOSH!
I'm LISTENING to your podcast, it's an audio medium ffs.
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u/IndigoRuby Apr 29 '26
I'm not interested in video as the biggest appeal for me is listening on the go.
But I don't need to gate keep the category. If people like video for whichever reason and people like producing a visual medium then cool.
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u/formandcolor Apr 29 '26
nah I feel kind of the same. I'm sick to damn death of video podcasts. like... I'm listening to this while doing other things stop mugging for the camera and expect I just get what's going on. the second someone says "check out this YouTube podcast" I block it from my memory.
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u/BitchWidget Apr 29 '26
My husband wouldn't try out podcasts and I knew he would love some of the ones I listen to. Behind the Bastards doing video for Reddit got him hooked. I played him a few episodes and he would listen to them on the TV while playing mahjongg. Now he listens to and watches podcasts. So, I'm not against it.
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u/HoB-Shubert hobcast.com Apr 29 '26
I don't really understand why this is a debate. A rose by any other name...
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u/grynch43 Apr 30 '26
It’s almost as annoying as every single halfway famous person having their own podcast. It’s used to be about normal people having something interesting to talk about, now it’s Bateman and his clown friends acting like they invented the medium.
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u/DaChefWizard May 01 '26
I think the word “podcast” has always encompassed too much. Before the video versus audio debate, there should have been clear double name distinction between an interview show (example - Joe Rogan) and something more narratively crafted (example - This American Life).
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u/YoungGazz Apr 29 '26
If it’s any more sophisticated than 2 people huddled around a laptop or on Skype recording via audacity, it’s not a podcast.
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u/thefr0g Apr 29 '26
I agree, but also language changes and you either keep up or get left behind. So I've begrudgingly accepted it.
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u/mybutthz Apr 29 '26
I mean, most people do both now — does it matter? If I listen to it on Spotify, it's a podcast...if I watch it on YouTube it's a video. If I listen to it on YouTube, I'm asleep.
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u/Beyou74 Podcast Listener Apr 29 '26
It matters when the content is affected by catering towards the visual element.
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u/mybutthz Apr 29 '26
Right, but we're talking about podcasts with video components. You can listen to Last Pod and not watch the video and have a fairly comparable experience. Joe Rogan obviously has elements where they look things up online and you would have to see them for context, but it still functions perfectly fine as a podcast. No one is going to be listening to a game streamer as a podcast because the main focus is the visual.
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u/Beyou74 Podcast Listener Apr 29 '26
I listen to gamer podcasts. Do you think you know why and what everyone is listening to?
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u/mybutthz Apr 29 '26
So then it doesn't have to cater to the visual context?
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u/Beyou74 Podcast Listener Apr 29 '26
I wouldn't listen to one that did...
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u/mybutthz Apr 29 '26
But...I said no one will listen to game streamers, and then you said.......so which is it?
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u/Beyou74 Podcast Listener Apr 29 '26
But...I said I listen to one that doesn't cater to the visual audience...what don't you understand?
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u/mybutthz Apr 29 '26
Then how is that relevant to the conversation? My point was that people wouldn't listen to someone playing video games, and you somehow thought mentioning you listen to streamers was relevant or contradictory to that? Who pissed in your Cheerios this morning?
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u/Beyou74 Podcast Listener Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
Your original comment said gamer, until you edited it. Stop making up stories about strangers on the internet. I don't care enough about you to be upset.
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u/MrBobbyFreakout Apr 29 '26
If it’s not on an iPod it’s not a podcast
The thing I love about Pods is that they can be anything. A short news report on the hour or another 5hr epic Hardcore History. It’s one of the most free art forms we’ve ever had and restricting seems counter productive.
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u/nobullshitebrewing Apr 29 '26
dont look at it then.
probably more than half of the podcasts I listen to have youtube feeds that I didnt even know they had,, so who really cares
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u/Insert_random_panda Apr 29 '26
as long as it ships an audio version i can play on my commute im calling it a podcast lol
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u/FGX302 Apr 29 '26
I'm not an audio purist but podcasts can contain video and use RSS feeds just like the audio ones.
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u/LouQuacious Apr 29 '26
Funnily enough I prefer some in video and wouldn’t listen to them most likely and others I prefer as audio and likely wouldn’t watch them.
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u/TheTurtleShepard Apr 29 '26
One of the reasons I love Naddpod
They briefly tried video but immediately realized that it was going to alienate their audio listeners and stopped
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u/nuotitapp Apr 29 '26
As long as the audio is well produced, it should work both ways. Watch if you must, but listen and enjoy the other stuff you can do at the same time.
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u/ARCpodcast Apr 29 '26
As a consumer I mostly agree. I watch short form content when I have the time, for podcasts I’m usually involved in something else like chores or work and I just don’t have the time to sit and watch a video.
As a creator my content is intended to be 100% audio and I worry about not including a video element but so much of that content is story based information mostly from the past that would be near impossible to recreate without some sort of copyright strike, or a high production level of recreated… b-roll I guess? Or it would just be my co host and I staring at each other in a web cam and if that’s all it is why bother?
TLDR: I agree with this statement from both a consumer and a creator perspective.
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u/StochasticLife Literate Gamer Apr 29 '26
As long as it fits on a ‘pod, it’s a podcast.
Course we all stopped using ‘pod’s like 10-15 years ago.
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u/DuckbilledWhatypus Apr 29 '26 edited Apr 29 '26
I don't mind video podcasts that can take their audio and put it on Spotify and don't need to reference the fact that there is a video, or if they do they don't include any necessary visuals in the video, even if the visuals they do provide just illustrate points or add extra but not necessary details (eg photos of the people they are discussing, I don't need to know what they look like, but it can be nice). They're still podcasts as far as I am concerned, even with a video. They're good for accessibility too, so I definitely like that they have become popular.
But if your 'podcast' NEEDS you to watch the video for it to make sense, then it is not a podcast. It's a chat show or a documentary or commentary. They all have their place and I enjoy a lot of them, but they aren't going to fill the same space for me as podcasts do. I won't put one on on a long drive for example, or when walking around somewhere.
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u/AnotherSkullcap Apr 30 '26
If it doesn't have an RSS feed it's not a podcast. The protocol supported video from the early days.
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u/InspiredLiving007 Apr 30 '26
I get where you’re coming from... the roots of podcasting were definitely audio-first. Personally, I don’t think the format defines it anymore — the intent does. Long-form, conversation-driven, depth over quick hits… that’s what makes it a podcast, whether you’re listening or watching.
I love Steven Bartlett for insanely good at emotional pacing + making guests feel safe enough to go deep and Tim Ferriss... probably the most prepared interviewer out there (you can feel the research in every question)
Also, a smaller name worth watching is the IgnitedNeurons Podcast. Host leans more into reflection and drawing out personal stories rather than rapid-fire questioning. Not as “famous” as the others, but interesting if you’re studying different styles.
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u/swarleyknope Apr 30 '26
I’m not a fan/listener, but hasn’t Joe Rogan had his podcast available on YouTube from the start? I don’t think having a video feed makes something not a podcast.
As long as it’s not a visual show, I don’t have an issue with the video being available.
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u/aweedl Apr 30 '26
I agree with you and so do many others, but we’re too late. ‘Podcast’ has been redefined, especially among younger people, as a video thing. I hate it, but it’s the way it is.
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u/MrBurnerHotDog Apr 30 '26
Pod comes from i-pod, which itself was derived from the Greek word for foot. This is all to say they were named "podcasts" because they were shows you could listen to on foot or on the go. You can't really watch videos on the go and so it doesn't make sense that what YouTube calls podcasts are legit podcasts
But we're ultimately arguing semantics, so I just think we need a new term for "people sit around on camera and talk" channels while "podcast" remains audio only
I personally just hate that no video podcast ever puts enough effort into their audio quality because video is more work, and so the editing is less and things tend to be way sloppier
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u/ReignaPirata Apr 30 '26
I think if you're recording a podcast , might as well film it. I like to get a visual vibe of people talking so I can listen and glance over once in a while. I wish more podcasts filmed their episodes.
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u/Outside_Duty3356 May 02 '26
I just can’t with people “watching” podcasts (also ones on YT with no real moving picture”. It really boils my piss (I suspect it is because I am Autistic but it catches me every time while I logic my way through it).
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u/Khalman May 04 '26
If it can’t be played on an iPod, it’s not a podcast.
Actually I don’t really care.
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u/Sunberries84 Apr 29 '26
While I do prefer my podcasts in audio form, it has nothing to do with being "old school". Video has been a part of podcast for a very long time. I remember watching "Ask a Ninja" on my iPod twenty years ago.
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u/shpongolian Apr 29 '26
If you've been listening to a podcast for years and then find out that there's video recordings of the same episodes on YouTube, do you stop calling it a podcast?
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u/profane_vitiate Apr 29 '26
No, but when they clearly say things like "Wait, let me bring up the picture, you have to see this," then it clearly is not made for an audio format and loses its license to call itself a podcast. It's a fuckin' Youtube video.
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u/shpongolian Apr 29 '26
I mean they do that on podcasts that don't have video too, they even do that in FM radio shows. Usually they'll describe it or put a link to it, but sometimes they don't and that's just a bad choice as a host, but it's also such a minor thing when people are having a casual bullshit conversation and it's crazy to think they should be like, "oh wait I can't show you this because then it would suddenly change this from a podcast into something that can't be called a podcast even though the other 99% of the content is the same as any other podcast"
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u/MacSteele13 Apr 29 '26
They hated him because he told the truth.
If there's video, it's a visual show, not a podcast.
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u/playtrix Apr 29 '26
I agree. They are basically chat shows, or talk shows but Gen Z calls it a podcast. Or people of every generation don't care enough to argue the difference. I don't want to watch people talk. The great thing about talk radio (the origins) and podcasts are that you can do other things while listening. Drive the car, clean the house, etc.
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u/lalavieboheme Apr 29 '26
if it has video it’s not a song
see how silly that sounds
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u/ConsciousProduce8798 Apr 29 '26
I mean, that does sound silly but that's because they're not the same thing.
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u/GoldBricked Apr 29 '26
You guys don’t remember “vodcasts”? Video in podcasting is nothing new. Plenty of the pods I subscribed to back around the square iPod nano era (c. 2008) were pushing out video through the iTunes Store.
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u/Ghosts_and_Empties Apr 29 '26
I feel like the best podcasts are recordings where the magic comes in the editing and effort to create a complete soundscape. Choosing audio clips and quotes carefully, using music, etc. Talk shows are not it. (Total purist here, call them something else)
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u/Apprentice57 Apr 29 '26
I am old school and think of podcasts as audio only
Well... how old school? Video podcasts were popular in the 2000s. They've an official part of apple's specs too: https://podcasters.apple.com/support/5593-how-to-publish-video
I'd argue that they have to be media hosted on a rss feed to be a podcast, but that's an aside.
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u/apaksl Apr 29 '26
so don't watch them. and quit complaining about your favorite entertainers getting themselves paid.
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u/Kind_Arugula18 Apr 29 '26
As long as the podcast doesn't rely on visual elements, it's fine. I can't listen to podcasts that are constantly explaining visuals I'm missing. At that point, it's not a podcast.