On a rainy Tuesday evening in February of 2023, I met Avante Price and Eli Taylor-Lemire at Andrew Yeung’s rooftop tech mixer in Manhattan. Avante and Eli are the Co-Founders of , and Andrew hosts the best tech-events in the world.

Avante mentioned that he was struggling to find a solid marketing exec who was willing to roll up their sleeves and actually create good content that was strategic and consistent.

He was curious about podcasting and how it might help them grow organically on social. At the time, we were starting to see a bunch of vertical podcasting clips popping up on Instagram and TikTok. They were enticing and moody and going viral left and right. I had dabbled in producing and hosting podcasts since I was a kid, and had just finished a role as the CMO of a company called Day One where we did some podcasting. I thought, “you know what, I can make you a podcast. Let’s give it a try.”

So I put together a brief, rented a mansion for a day in Tribeca because we wanted to uphold POSH’s brand standards that we cared deeply about, brought in an Emmy-Award winning film crew, and pressed record. The show was called HOSTED by POSH, and I had no idea what was about to happen.

By episode 4, we were booking some of the biggest names in their industry. By episode 12, we had hundreds of thousands of impressions on the content. And the next thing I knew, another founder friend asked me to produce a podcast for him. Followed by another, and another, and another.

Fast forward two years to today, and I’ve now produced over 50 podcasts, thousands of episodes, recorded in dozens of studios around the world, shipped hundreds of thousands of social posts, and reached well over a billion organic impressions across the portfolio. The company behind the madness is called Thursday Labs (DM me sometime if you’re curious where the name came from). We’re on a mission to build the empire of podcasts in tech.

I’ve had a front-row seat to podcasting’s evolution. What follows is an opinionated, deeply researched look at where podcasting stands and where it’s headed. Essentially I’m here to tell you why you should start a podcast this year, but that you should read this paper first.

‍I write this in the first person, blending data with on-the-ground experience. The goal isn’t to pitch our services, but to share an insider’s outlook that can help founders, investors, and creators navigate the booming (yet often baffling) podcast landscape. Let’s dive in. I hope you enjoy and find value in this.

—Jake Hurwitz, Founder and CEO, Thursday Labs

You should absolutely start a podcast this year, but you should read this white paper first. Build your podcast for the world we actually live in now: video‑native, clip‑driven, multi‑platform, and measured on retention and total creator reach. Not just RSS downloads.

~4.6 million podcasts exist worldwide.

~584 million global listeners in 2025, growing roughly 6–7% year over year.

U.S. ad revenue grew from ~$1.4B (2021) to ~$1.9B (2023) and is tracking past $2B in 2024, with ~$2.6B projected by 2026.

Global market projections diverge widely depending on scope and methodology.

Read estimates half of Americans have watched a podcast.

Connected TVs drive a larger share of podcast listening time than smart speakers, underscoring the rise of the living‑room, video‑first show.

“Podfade” is real (aka launching a podcast and then losing interest and fading out). Roughly HALF of shows publish three or fewer episodes. Only a small minority are currently active.

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(Full sources inline throughout the paper.)

Podcasting is booming, yet parts of the stack feel pre‑2015. RSS distribution is resilient but limiting. Download counts are still the default “currency” even though they are not the same as listening. Meanwhile, actual consumption has shifted toward video, short‑form discovery, and connected TVs. The winners are treating podcasts as creator‑led, multi‑format IP with community, commerce, and cross‑platform distribution built in from day one.

The 2020 cohort effect created a flood of new shows and gear, followed by a wave of podfade.

YouTube ascended to the top consumption platform as “watching podcasts” went mainstream.

Connected TV surged as a listening device, which makes visually engaging sets and on‑screen storytelling strategic, not cosmetic.

AI matured across production, personalization, and ad tech, while introducing real verification challenges.

RSS‑centric plumbing limits rich data and product innovation.

Metrics miss what matters. Downloads do not equal plays, completion, or co‑listening.

Format mismatch. The industry still defaults to hour‑long audio while discovery happens through short, vertical video and YouTube.

Inconsistent studio quality lags creator expectations for multi‑camera, video‑ready capture and set design

Behind-the-scenes content is equally as important as the podcast content itself. Use IG Stories, TikTok LIVE, and “how we made it” moments to build parasocial glue between episodes.

Merch and IRL. Turn listeners into community with physical touchpoints, meetups, and live tapings.

Short‑form to long‑form funnel. Design for 5-15 vertical clips per episode, then earn the long‑form watch or listen over months.

Treat hosts like creators. Measure and monetize total footprint across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, LinkedIn, newsletter, and site.

YouTube is number one among U.S. weekly podcast users, and almost half of Americans have watched a podcast.

Connected TV (CTV) now matters. About one in eight podcast listening minutes happens on the television.

Gen Z is video‑first. They discover shows via Shorts, Reels, and TikTok, then graduate to full episodes on YouTube or audio apps.

Starting is cheap; sustaining is hard. Quality, uniqueness, and consistency are the moats.

Discovery is clunky. In‑app search and cross‑platform analytics remain fragmented. Social video and owned email list are the reliable levers.

B2B is a quiet powerhouse. Niche audiences, long time‑on‑task, and host trust drive outsized impact. LinkedIn helps, but YouTube, Shorts, and newsletters now matter for reach.

From spots to creator media. Advertisers increasingly buy integrated packages anchored by the host, not just mid‑rolls.Measure what matters. Retention, completion, and cross‑platform reach beat raw downloads.

Dynamic insertion and programmatic are mainstream. Dynamic creative and contextual targeting are gaining traction.

Standards are improving but imperfect. Treat IAB download counts as directional. Build supplemental proof with platform analytics and brand‑lift studies.

YouTube will keep winning attention via algorithmic discovery and TV‑friendly viewing.

Spotify will keep professionalizing ad tech and creator tools across an all‑audio stack.

Apple is pushing transcripts and premium subs while preserving open distribution.Expect diverging roadmaps and siloed analytics for the foreseeable future.

Upside. Transcripts, summaries, chaptering, and multi-cam sync reduce production friction. Segment‑level recommendations and “five‑minute takeaways” will reshape consumption.

Ads. Dynamic creative and contextual targeting will personalize messaging by content, location, and even weather.

Risk. Voice cloning and misinformation require verification rails and clear disclosure policies.

Video‑native sets and clear hooks in the first 10-30 seconds now drive attention.

Recurring bits and structure keep viewers engaged and make clipping easier.

IP expansion is real: live tours, streaming specials, product lines, and paid communities extend the business model.

Crowded: Comedy, Society & Culture, News, True Crime.

Openings: Hybrid B2B explainers, narrative mini‑series, video‑native talk with strong clipping, and utility shows that double as searchable knowledge bases. Local and underrepresented voices remain under‑served.

Highly produced, video‑native shows lead. Short‑form drives growth, long‑form anchors loyalty.

Advertisers buy creators, not just shows. Packages span audio, YouTube, socials, and newsletter.

Studios go niche, then consolidate. IP libraries and production craft become acquisition targets.

More pro studios in more cities with CTV‑ready capture and set design as standard.

Direct audience revenue (subscriptions, memberships, live) becomes a meaningful share for mid‑tier shows.

Design for video and CTV from day one. Plan sets, framing, and graphics that work on phones and TVs.

Ship 5-15 clips per episode and build an owned list. Treat the episode as the engine for micro‑content.

Shift your scoreboard to retention, completion, and cross‑platform reach.

Pilot AI for transcripts, summaries, highlights, and dynamic ads with a verification and disclosure policy.

Invest in set design and first‑minute hooks. Earn attention fast.

Our bets are simple. Launch video‑native and short‑form‑led episodes. Package creator‑style integrations instead of generic mid‑rolls. Build owned distribution to hedge platform risk. Use AI to increase quality and speed while protecting authenticity. This is the practical path we use to help hypergrowth founders and investors turn podcasts into durable IP, community, and deal flow.


‍Data sources include Edison Research, IAB/PwC, Cumulus/Signal Hill, Apple, AdsWizz, and leading industry analyses. See the full paper for sources.