By Rob Greenlee
The podcasting industry stands at one of its most pivotal moments since RSS feeds first powered the medium’s growth. The lines between audio and video, creator and audience, and independent and platform-driven distribution are blurring faster than ever. While there’s growing concern about saturation, declining discovery, and market consolidation, there’s also a wave of optimism driven by artificial intelligence, smarter delivery technology, and the reemergence of video as a dominant form of spoken content.
The State of Podcasting in 2025
The podcasting ecosystem today feels both mature and transitional. Creators are facing real challenges from audience discovery and monetization to the pressure of competing with algorithmically boosted video content on platforms like YouTube and Spotify. Yet the medium remains more vibrant than ever, with audiences seeking authenticity, connection, and storytelling in ways that other media cannot replicate.
Podcasting has always been cyclical. We started with audio and video podcasts in the early 2000s, then narrowed to audio as bandwidth and devices constrained video consumption.
Now, we are returning to a hybrid model. The public expects podcasts to exist wherever they consume content, whether that’s in a traditional RSS player, on YouTube, or integrated into their AI assistant.
The big shift? We are no longer in a creator-first phase. We are in an audience-first era.
The Rise and Redefinition of Video in Podcasting
Video is not just coming to podcasting, it is already here. YouTube, in particular, has redefined what people perceive as a podcast. The traditional boundaries of the format, audio-first and RSS-fed, are being challenged by an audience that increasingly consumes podcasts visually.
That is both a threat and an opportunity. It is a threat because centralized platforms can become new gatekeepers, shifting attention and control away from creators. But it is also an opportunity to innovate, to merge the accessibility of video with the intimacy of audio storytelling.
The platforms that will thrive are those that support both video and audio formats equally and empower creators to distribute, measure, and monetize across both.
Why RSS Must Evolve and Why HLS Could Save It
RSS remains the heart of open podcasting, but it is showing its age. In a world where Spotify and YouTube provide real-time analytics, dynamic delivery, and adaptive playback, RSS-based audio feels static.
That is why adopting HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) could be transformative. HLS allows for variable bitrate delivery, meaning podcasts could automatically adjust quality based on the listener’s connection, similar to how streaming video works. More importantly, it could enable better analytics: detailed listener behavior, completion rates, and more accurate ad measurement.
Without innovation like this, RSS risks being left behind. The podcasting community must embrace smarter delivery protocols to remain competitive and independent.
AI’s Expanding Role in Podcasting
Artificial intelligence is no longer a side tool for creators. It is becoming a creative partner. From automated show notes and social captions to clip generation and content summaries, AI is making it easier for creators to produce high-quality content faster.
But this is just the beginning. Over the next decade, AI will transform podcasting in three major ways:
Automated Content Creation: Entire episodes could be scripted, voiced, and mixed by AI or co-created alongside humans.
AI-Powered Discovery: Instead of searching by keywords, audiences will ask AI assistants for specific themes or moods, such as “Find me a podcast that makes me feel optimistic about the future of technology,” and AI will surface them instantly.
AI-Integrated Experiences: Podcast players could evolve into intelligent media hubs, where listeners interact directly with content by asking follow-up questions, exploring related topics, or buying products mentioned in real time.
While AI will not replace authentic human storytelling, it will amplify it, especially for creators who learn to integrate these tools effectively.
Monetization, Market Differences, and Global Growth
Monetization remains one of the hardest challenges in podcasting. Subscription fatigue, freemium limitations, and market-specific regulations make scaling difficult, especially in emerging markets where cultural and financial barriers limit premium conversions.
Globally, the opportunity lies in diversifying revenue streams, from branded content and memberships to live events, merch, and premium video access. Podcasting’s long-tail nature means sustainable growth will depend less on mass audiences and more on engaged communities.
The Next Wave of Podcast Innovation
To push podcasting forward, especially for entry-level and professional creators, platforms and tools must evolve in a few key areas:
- AI-Powered Creative Workflow
Automate editing, show notes, transcript generation, and social clip production while allowing creators to customize tone and prompts.
- Adaptive Distribution
Adopt hybrid RSS and HLS delivery to maintain openness while gaining richer data and listener experience parity with major video platforms.
- Unified Analytics
Bring together audio, video, and social metrics into a single dashboard to help creators see their full impact across channels.
- Smart Monetization
Use AI to recommend dynamic ad insertion opportunities, ideal pricing tiers, and personalized offers for each listener segment.
- Voice and AI Assistant Integration
Make podcasts natively discoverable within voice-based ecosystems, from home devices to in-car assistants, using metadata that understands intent and emotion, not just titles.
The podcasting medium is far from stagnant. It is evolving into something bigger, more connected, and more intelligent. The real opportunity lies not just in keeping up with these changes but in leading them.
For creators and platforms alike, the mission is clear: keep podcasting open, innovative, and human, even as AI and automation redefine what it means to create, share, and connect through spoken media.
About the Author
Rob Greenlee is a Podcast Hall of Fame inductee and global new media leader who bridges podcasting’s roots with its AI-driven future. As founder of Spoken Life Media and host of The Pro Creator Playbook, The New Media Show (on Hiatus), and Spoken Human, Rob helps creators grow, monetize, and future-proof their content. He’s held leadership roles at Microsoft, Spreaker, Libsyn, and PodcastOne, and serves as Chairperson of the Podcast Hall of Fame. Learn more at RobGreenlee.com