Podcasts are no longer coming to Hollywood, like a long-prophesized invasion.
They’re here.
On Sunday, the Golden Globes will recognize podcasting for the first time, putting the art form on par with, say, the acting on “The Pitt,” or the direction of “Sinners.”
Later that night, Netflix will livestream its first podcast episode, bringing “The Bill Simmons Podcast” to a service better known for “Stranger Things” or “KPop Demon Hunters.” Dozens more podcast titles are still to come.
The podcast industry has for years been inching closer to Hollywood’s opening arms, inking licensing deals and adapting audio shows into television series. Millions have been spent in anticipation of this marriage, including on both starry parties and low-key brunches in Los Angeles this week, in celebration of the podcast nominees.
A few years ago, when podcasts began experimenting with video, they looked like “hostage videos,” Bill Simmons, the longtime sports commentator and founder of the digital media company The Ringer, said on Wednesday. He was speaking to a small group of employees and creators gathered on a West Hollywood balcony to mark the opening of Spotify’s sophisticated new video studio, with five soundproof recording spaces and an armory of Erewhon water bottles.
If the first half of this decade was devoted to figuring out how to make more money from podcasts — now an estimated $7.3 billion industry — the second half will be an “arms race” to make them look good, Mr. Simmons told The New York Times.
Podcasts today are more like online talk shows than audio feeds. Hosts have also morphed more into moguls, leveraging their shows to sell cellphone plans, energy drinks and “protein shots.” As more people opt to watch podcasts on high-definition television screens, their quality has also improved.
“They’re not like ‘Game of Thrones,’ but they look nice,” said Mr. Simmons, now Spotify’s head of talk strategy, whose early contributions to the medium earned him the nickname “the Podfather” in certain circles.
The Globes’ inaugural podcast award is “another sign that the industry is ready to recognize the medium on the same playing field as film and TV,” said Scott Greenstein, the president of SiriusXM, a satellite radio company that has quietly become the leading seller of advertisements for top podcasts, including “SmartLess,” “Call Her Daddy,” and “The Mel Robbins Show,” all nominated for Sunday’s award. SiriusXM already has a considerable presence in Los Angeles, with a six-year-old office across the street from Spotify’s new studio; Mr. Greenstein, a former film executive, has previously attended the Globes.
Other nominees include Spotify’s “Good Hang with Amy Poehler,” NPR’s “Up First,” and Amazon’s “Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard,” whose co-host Monica Padman told The Times that it was “mind-boggling” to be attending an awards show — her childhood dream — “for a form of media that simply didn’t exist when I first started dreaming.”
That excitement echoed when the new podcast category was announced last May. Even outspoken pundits like Sasha Stone of Awards Daily were impressed.
“On the one hand, they mean absolutely nothing,” Ms. Stone said of the Globes. And yet: “I think they’re trying to modernize, to be more relevant and topical, and they very smartly see that podcasts are driving the culture.”
Still, the award arrives with some turbulence.
The Golden Globes are co-owned by Jay Penske, who also owns the publications best known for covering the awards circuit (among them: Variety, The Hollywood Reporter, Deadline and Gold Derby).
The trouble began in October, when a list of 25 eligible podcasts was released by Luminate, a top entertainment data firm and former Nielsen subsidiary also owned by Mr. Penske. The methodology was “proprietary,” but published eligibility metrics included audience numbers (provided by top podcast platforms), estimated revenue from ads and subscriptions, and placement and longevity on various charts.
Many podcast insiders were startled by the absence of popular shows such as “New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce,” “This American Life,” “Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” and “The MeidasTouch Podcast,” which was named the 2025 Webby Podcast of the Year.
Dick Clark Productions, which produces the Golden Globes, declined to comment.
One prominent podcast asked for more specific feedback on its omission, though it did not receive it, an individual familiar with the Globes submission process, who requested anonymity so future consideration would not be jeopardized, told The Times. Others were unbothered; Jordy Meiselas, a founder of the progressive media network MeidasTouch, told The Times that the Golden Globes “wasn’t really on our radar.”
In an email, Gabriel Soto, senior director at Edison Research — a widely cited podcast analytics firm not owned by Mr. Penske — said that questions raised about Luminate’s neutrality was “a recipe for controversy,” though he added: “I understand controversy might not be so bad for an awards ceremony vying for your attention Sunday night.”
The six nominees were required to pay a $5,000 fee to upload materials to a screening platform, plus optional fees like $1,000 to blast an email to voters, on top of a more standard initial $500 submission fee. (Low-budget productions could receive discounts.)
It appeared podcasts could also pay Penske Media titles for promotion in the race. (Many media organizations sell “for your consideration” advertising.)
In October, The Ankler published a Variety deck offering panelist slots at a festival for $25,000, or a “creative impact award” and magazine feature for $75,000. The paid award did not materialize; following The Ankler report, at least one nominated podcast explicitly instructed its parent company not to pursue it, according to the person familiar with the process.
As Megyn Kelly rather colorfully explained to fans, she would rather kill herself than “do a little dog-and-pony show” for the Golden Globes. (The Times podcast “The Daily” was also shortlisted but did not submit for official consideration.)
At the same time, “The Ben Shapiro Show” made “aggressive” efforts to campaign, as the media newsletter Status pointed out in November. No right-leaning podcasts were ultimately nominated, though Ms. Kelly and Mr. Shapiro were shortlisted along with Tucker Carlson, Candace Owens, Shawn Ryan and Joe Rogan.
Spotify, which co-produces the Globes-nominated “Good Hang with Amy Poehler,” said its investments ahead of the Globes were meant to elevate podcasting as a whole and to emphasize the platform’s role in its rise.
With The Hollywood Reporter, it sponsored a Globes round table; co-hosted and produced a lavish party on Thursday that was stuffed with celebrities, a food station cornucopia and the singer-songwriter Chaka Khan; and will co-host a Globes preshow on Sunday starring Kareem Rahma of “Subway Takes.”
After the bestowing of the award — which Spotify’s “Good Hang” has been widely predicted to win — “The Bill Simmons Podcast” will debut on Netflix, as part of a first-of-its-kind deal with the streaming service.
The hope is that being on Netflix will help “elevate us and maybe bring in new fans,” Mr. Simmons said. The Ringer’s shows will be the first test of whether video podcasts might succeed on Netflix in the same way they have unexpectedly thrived on YouTube.
”I like being on the ground floor,” Mr. Simmons told The Times. “I think that’s when people probably care the most.”
Jessica Testa covers nontraditional and emerging media for The Times.
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