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Netflix, Spotify partner to bring The Ringer podcasts to video platform
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Spotify is officially bringing video podcasts to Netflix.
The partnership will bring a selection of podcasts from The Ringer, a network acquired by Spotify in 2020, to the streaming company in early 2026 for U.S. users.
The podcasts will range from sports to culture to true crime, aiming to both complement Netflix’s current slate and bring in new audiences, pulling from The Ringer’s lineup. The companies said more markets outside of the U.S. are in the pipeline.
“This partnership marks a new chapter for podcasting,” Spotify’s Head of Podcasts Roman Wasenmüller said in a statement. “Together with Netflix, we’re expanding discovery, helping creators reach new audiences, and giving fans around the world the chance to experience the stories they love and uncover favorites they never expected. This offers more choice to creators and unlocks a completely new distribution opportunity.”
Lauren Smith, Netflix’s vice president of content licensing and programming strategy, said the curated selection “adds fresh voices and new perspectives to Netflix.”
The shows coming to Netflix include “The Bill Simmons Podcast,” “The Rewatchables” and “Serial Killers,” with more expected after the initial launch.
Spotify said the move is the next step in evolving the company into a multimedia experience, with more initiatives planned in the future to “bring similar opportunities to a wider range of creators.”
Tuesday’s announcement comes as media companies have turned to video podcasts as the next big thing among their audiences. In particular, video podcasts have soared in popularity on Google’s YouTube, which is increasingly nabbing a bigger share of viewership.
This has led traditional media and streaming companies to lean into the medium.
At this year’s Upfront advertising presentations, some companies, including Amazon’s Prime Video, noted the recent success of podcast content as creators sign multimillion dollar deals and garner millions of followers and views.
On an April earnings call, Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos said the company is “constantly looking at all different types of content.” Sarandos added that the line between podcasts and talk shows is becoming increasingly blurred.
“We want to work with kind of great creators across all kinds of media that consumers love,” Sarandos said. “Podcasts … have become a lot more video-forward.”
— CNBC’s Lillian Rizzo contributed to this report.
