The number of video podcasts set to flood Netflix next year is growing.
On Tuesday, the streaming giant announced a partnership with iHeartMedia, furthering its long-awaited push into podcasting — and yanking a few more shows off YouTube, its rival in the modern entertainment wars.
Under the deal, at least 15 podcasts produced by iHeartMedia will publish their video episodes exclusively on Netflix beginning in early 2026, the companies said.
They include “The Breakfast Club,” a popular syndicated weekday radio program co-hosted by Charlamagne Tha God; “My Favorite Murder,” a long-running true crime podcast; and shows from the comedians Chelsea Handler and Bobby Bones.
The announcement follows a previous deal for 16 podcasts produced by Spotify Studios and the Ringer, the digital media company founded by Bill Simmons, to air their video episodes on Netflix, also in 2026.
Audio versions of the iHeartMedia podcasts will still be available on other platforms. In a statement with Netflix, the radio conglomerate emphasized that audio was still important to its business, even as video podcasting has been on the rise.
Netflix sees podcasts as a way to boost daytime viewership, two people with knowledge of the company’s thinking said. (They asked not to be identified in order to speak freely about their business dealings.) As the audience for traditional morning and daytime television declines, media prognosticators are betting on video podcasts to fill the cultural space — or at least provide household background noise — once occupied by “The Today Show” or “The View.”
During an investor call in October, Greg Peters, a Netflix co-chief executive, characterized the company’s approach to podcasting as somewhat experimental, with the category’s future “based on demand signals that we get from our members.”
Yet for top podcasts, leaving YouTube to join Netflix has been seen as risky. Over the last few months, at least three executives attached to top podcasts have suggested to The New York Times that their shows’ advertising earnings are too large to make any exclusive video rights deal on the table appealing. The episodes on Netflix will still include advertisements read by hosts, but ads will not pre-empt or interrupt the episodes, as they do on YouTube.
The deal with Netflix does not include iHeartPodcasts’ video hits like “On Purpose With Jay Shetty.” The Spotify deal also did not include the Ringer’s most popular new show, “Good Hang With Amy Poehler.”
Netflix has signaled there will be more podcasts to come, however. Its vice president of content licensing and programming strategy, Lauren Smith, referred to iHeartMedia’s slate as an “initial collection” in Tuesday’s statement.
So far Netflix’s deal-making has focused on entertainment and sports podcasts, rather than the politically opinionated shows that dominate podcasting charts, such as “The Joe Rogan Experience,” “The Tucker Carlson Show” and “The MeidasTouch Podcast.”
“The Breakfast Club” is one key exception. Although its primary topics are pop culture and hip-hop, its hosts have interviewed several top politicians seeking to reach Black voters. While Charlamagne Tha God has previously endorsed Democrats, he has fiercely criticized both parties.
“The Breakfast Club” also has six million subscribers on YouTube — far more than any other podcast on Netflix’s upcoming slate.
Jessica Testa covers nontraditional and emerging media for The Times.
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