How YouTube Turned Podcasts Into a Video-First Format
YouTube didn’t announce a revolution. It made a quiet structural change.That change altered how podcasts surface, spread, and grow inside the platform. Since September 22, 2023, podcasts on YouTube stopped behaving like regular playlists.They became first-class content types. Many creators still treat this feature casually. That is a mistake. Written by Dotty Scott Founder of Premium Websites, Inc. Empowering small businesses to go from Invisible to Invincible. What YouTube Means by “Podcast” On YouTube, a podcast is a defined series with a clear purpose. It signals ongoing, episodic publishing. A podcast exists as its own show page. Episodes are connected, ordered, and grouped intentionally. Listeners can follow the show, not just individual videos. This structure tells YouTube how the content should be treated. It indicates: The videos belong to a recurring series Episodes should be recommended together Viewers are expected to return over time...