Podcast Executive Check-In [July 2025 Survey Results]

Hello from Paris, where I’m with the family and officially OOO this week!

So rather than doing a deep dive into a specific topic, I thought it’d be a good time to check in with executives across the podcast industry to see how they’re really feeling about the state of things — and where it’s all headed.

Over the past couple of weeks, I surveyed around 60 global executives across content and tech companies, asking about everything from revenue projections and platform performance to Spotify’s video strategy, Netflix, M&A, and more.

Before we dive in — thanks to everyone who’s been reading and replying each week. Your feedback has sparked some incredible conversations behind the scenes. After numerous baguettes, Sancerre, and then some time on the Stockholm archipelago, I’ll be ready for what’s shaping up to be a very busy and exciting Q3 and Q4.

Speaking of — quarterly earnings are starting to roll in, and I’ll have a round-up of those in the coming weeks.

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Alright, let’s get into the results. 

First, we asked executives to share how their companies are performing in 2025, with most companies currently on target with original projections. But 40% are pacing above projections - and I can tell you that many companies had set quite ambitious goals coming out of 2024, so quite the positive tailwind.

To take it a step further, we wanted to look at where the money is coming from. Host-read still dominates, and I was surprised to see branded content so high. Other revenue sources included marketing services, commissioned work, web3, etc.