Listen! Netflix is officially getting into the podcast business: the video streaming giant has signed a deal with Spotify to offer subscribers around the world a batch of premium original podcasts, including Bill Simmons’ The Ringer.
The companies did not disclose the terms of the deal, including the duration of the licensing agreement. The partnership will bring sports, culture, lifestyle and true crime podcasts from Spotify Studios and The Ringer that will “complement Netflix’s existing programming and unlock new audiences and broader distribution of the shows,” the companies said.
Upcoming Spotify shows on Netflix are expected to include sports and pop culture interview series “The Bill Simmons Podcast”; “The Rewatchables,” in which Simmons, Chris Ryan, Sean Fennessey and other Ringer hosts discussed and dissected more than 300 classic films; and the true-crime series “Serial Killers.” The initial selection of titles is “just the beginning” of the partnership between Netflix and Spotify; the companies said they would continue to add more podcasts across various genres and studios.
Spotify’s video podcasts will be available on Netflix in the United States in early 2026, with other markets to follow.
Netflix’s move to video podcasts in its lineup comes as podcasters – who originally worked in an audio-only format – have increased the addition of video in order to increase audience engagement. Spotify has encouraged podcasters to distribute their shows as video episodes, and YouTube has now become a major podcast distribution platform. According to a recent study by radio and audio company Cumulus Media, 72% of podcast listeners said they prefer shows with video.
Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos, during the company’s first-quarter 2025 earnings call in April, was asked about his company’s interest in podcasts. “We’re constantly looking at all the different types of content and content creators,” Sarandos responded. “The lines between podcasts and talk shows are getting pretty blurred. We want to work with great creators across all kinds of media that consumers love. And podcasts, in your opinion, have become much more video-focused.”
Sarandos added that “as the popularity of video podcasts increases, I think you’ll see some of them heading to Netflix.”
Many of the podcasts under the Netflix-Spotify deal are produced by The Ringer, launched by Simmons in 2016 and acquired by Spotify in 2020 for about $250 million. Ringer Podcast Network’s roster includes more than 50 shows
“This partnership marks a new chapter for podcasting,” Roman Wasenmüller, vice president and head of podcasts at Spotify, said in a statement. “Together with Netflix, we’re expanding discovery, helping creators reach new audiences and giving fans around the world the chance to discover the stories they love and discover favorites they didn’t expect. This provides more choice for creators and opens up a whole new distribution opportunity.”
Lauren Smith, Netflix Vice President of Content Licensing and Programming Strategy, commented: “With the rise of video podcasts, our partnership with Spotify ensures that we will bring the full video versions of these flagship shows to Netflix and Spotify. From pop culture and lifestyle to true crime and sports, this curated selection of video podcasts adds new voices and new perspectives to Netflix, making our entertainment lineup more exciting than ever. This offers more choice. to creators and opens up a whole new distribution opportunity.
Spotify and Netflix have released a list of some of the podcasts covered by the deal:
- Sporty: “The Bill Simmons Podcast”, “The Zach Lowe Show”, “The McShay Show”, “Fairway Rollin'”, “The Mismatch”, “The Ringer F1 Show”, “The Ringer Fantasy Football Show”, “The Ringer NFL Show”, “The Ringer NBA Show”
- Culture and lifestyle: “The Rewatchables”, “The Big Picture”, “The Dave Chang Show”, “The Recipe Club”, “Dissect”
- Actual crime: “Conspiracy theories”, “Serial killers”
