According to Bloomberg, Netflix is reportedly in talks to license iHeartMedia’s video podcasts. iHeartMedia’s podcast portfolio includes shows such as “The Breakfast Club,” “Las Culturistas,” “Jay Shetty Podcast,” and “Stuff You Should Know.”
Netflix wants exclusivity, and video podcasts it licenses from iHeartMedia will no longer be able to be uploaded to YouTube. It’s worth noting that if a deal goes through, iHeartMedia may not license its entire podcast catalog to the streaming service.
The news comes weeks after Netflix struck a similar deal with Spotify. The deal will bring Netflix a selection of sports, culture, lifestyle and true crime podcasts from Spotify Studios and The Ringer.
Under the deal with Spotify, podcasts available on Netflix will be removed from YouTube, but will remain on Spotify. Some of Spotify’s biggest shows will remain on YouTube, including “The Joe Rogan Experience.”
For Netflix, these video podcast deals provide new ways to better compete with YouTube, the most-watched video podcast platform, which surpassed 1 billion monthly active podcast viewers earlier this year.
