Podcasting’s Anti-Video Rebellion Has Begun

Podcasting's Anti-Video Rebellion Has Begun

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Why creators are pulling back from video and where the medium is actually heading.  ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌

 

 

🎙️ The Signal & The Noise

Podcast Industry Intel — Week of December 9, 2025

 
Hi Newsletter Subscribers,

Everyone's busy reposting Spotify's "Top 50" lists this week, but—as usual—the interesting stuff is happening outside the spotlight. While the trades obsess over thumbnails and ranking charts, the real story is that audio is quietly shifting under our feet.
 
This week: the creators fueling the "anti-video" backlash, the uncomfortable truth about audio ad fraud, and the shows actually pushing the medium forward.

 

1. The "Anti-Video" Rebellion Has Arrived

 

If 2025 had a slogan, it was "you need video.”
But late-year data suggests a pivot away from video-lite podcasting is already underway.
 
Creators are burned out on cameras. Audiences are burned out on talking-head clips. And the smartest teams are rediscovering the thing video can't touch:
the immersive, eyes-free magic of deep audio.
 
🌌 The Return to "Eyes-Free" Storytelling
 
A new wave of audio-first creators is leaning into:
  • Spatial and 3D audio
  • “Theater of the mind” soundscapes
  • Narrative environments instead of “visual substitutes”
BBC's Charles Dickens Ghost Stories and indie shows like Twilight Histories are setting the pace for what's next.
 

 

2. The Invisible Threat: Audio Ad Fraud Is Coming

Podcasting's rising CPMs and “high-attention” reputation have attracted something unpleasant:
sophisticated bot networks.
 
Ad fraud is creeping into streaming audio—quietly, quickly, and with surprisingly few people talking about it.
 
⚠️ The Pressure Points
  • Streaming audio now looks exactly like high-engagement human activity, making it a prime target.
  • Industry fraud experts (including Anura's CEO) are sounding the alarm.
  • The Cloudflare outage earlier this year exposed just how centralized the audio delivery ecosystem really is.
In 2026, brands won't just ask for reach.
They'll ask you to prove your reach is real.

3. Curator's Cut: Shows Actually Doing Something New

Forget the endless “Top 10 True Crime” lists. This week's picks are the shows pushing boundaries and experimenting with format in ways the industry should be paying attention to.
 
🎮 PastMaster — The Format Breaker
History retold through an AI-driven role-play experience.
 
🎬 Verbal Diorama — The Deep Dive
One film at a time. Obsessively researched. A vertical niche done right.
 
🎭 The Comedy Bureau — The Craft Lesson
Comedy theory meets accessible conversation. Smart, tight, and refreshingly intentional.
 

🌟 Final Thought

2025 proved podcasting is a mature industry.
2026 will force it to choose its identity:
A video-dependent content factory?
Or
A medium built on immersion, imagination, and sound?
 
Right now, the most interesting creators are choosing the latter

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Last, but not least, let's highlight this week's featured episodes:

Episode Promotion – Find & Be a Guest! 🎙️

Looking for a great podcast opportunity? Check out these featured episodes where hosts and guests are looking to connect right now!
 
🎙️ Wellness without the Overwhelm
👤 Kristen Herlihy Herlihy
🔗 Apply Here
📢 Tags: #beaguest
 
🎙️How to Make Confident Decisions: 5 Journal Prompts To Stop Overthinking
👤 Samantha Hawley
🔗 Apply Here
📢 Tags: #beaguest, #collab, #findaguest, #podswap
 
💡 Want to be featured in an episode promotion? Start by creating your own episode listing inside the Podcast Collab Club!
 

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💬 If you want more of this…

 
Thanks for reading this week's Signal & The Noise.
If you found these insights useful, share it with someone who's still stuck arguing about camera angles instead of sound design.

More intel, more clarity, and more signal coming your way next week.
 

With excitement,
The Podcast Collaborative Team 
P.S.
Got a show doing something actually innovative? Send it my way. I'm always looking for creators pushing the format forward.
Ready to ride the wave of podcasting's biggest year yet?
Come check out the  Podcast Collab Club and connect with creators who are making it happen!

 

 

 

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