Two years after Daniel Ek admitted on an earnings call that the billion-dollar bet on exclusivity had not delivered the results Spotify had expected, Spotify and Netflix have signed a deal that reopens the question. Bloomberg reporter Ashley Carman reported on Wednesday that podcaster Jay Shetty is moving his show On Purpose exclusively to both platforms. The audio stays distributed through Apple Podcasts and other services, but all video episodes will disappear from YouTube from the day the new deal starts. “Jay Shetty is the newest podcaster to decide to stop posting his show to YouTube,” Carman wrote on LinkedIn. Variety valued the deal at roughly $100 million over several years.
What changes on 13 July
Spotify and Netflix will begin video distribution on 13 July 2026, as Variety and TheWrap both report. Older episodes and short promotional clips remain on YouTube, TheNextWeb confirms. Audio continues on Apple Podcasts and other platforms without restriction.
In the deal, Spotify takes on the role of global ad sales representative. It holds the same role for Joe Rogan following his renewal in February 2024, where it sells the advertising while distribution remains broader. In Shetty's case, distribution of video episodes is confined to two apps. The audio remains open.
Shetty's previous distribution and sales partner was iHeartMedia. That contract ends in June 2026. According to Variety, the company sought a four-year renewal, but no agreement on terms was reached. Besides iHeartMedia, three other bidders with offers in the nine-figure range were, according to the same report, in the running. Spotify and Netflix won with a joint offer.
The first joint creator deal between Spotify and Netflix
The deal is the first joint creator deal between Spotify and Netflix. The two companies do have a short shared history, however. In October 2025 they announced a partnership under which Spotify's Ringer properties (Bill Simmons, Zach Lowe, The Rewatchables) would move to Netflix as video podcasts. That was licensing of an existing catalogue. Shetty's deal is a different format. It is an exclusive acquisition of an individual creator and his show for a nine-figure sum.
Roman Wasenmüller, Spotify VP and Global Head of Podcasts, commented on the deal by saying that “On Purpose has built one of the most engaged podcast audiences in the world, and we're excited to expand our partnership with Netflix and Jay by bringing video episodes to Spotify.” For Netflix, Lauren Smith, VP of Content Licensing and Programming Strategy, said in a press release that “Jay Shetty has an extraordinary ability to spark deep, meaningful connections that resonate with millions around the world.” Shetty himself said of the deal: “This is a historic moment, not just for On Purpose but for podcasting itself. We're entering a new era where interviews can impact culture as powerfully as movies, music and television on the global stage.”
What stands against YouTube
YouTube is today the largest podcast platform for American listeners. In Edison Research's Share of Ear for Q4 2025, YouTube accounts for 32% of time spent with audio, Spotify 25% and Apple Podcasts 20%. Video podcasting is the segment where YouTube dominates, thanks to its own recommendation system and a user base that neither Spotify nor Netflix has matched on its own.
The joint move by the two companies is a response to this gap. Commentator Sam Sethi, founder of the TrueFans.fm platform, wrote under Carman's original post on LinkedIn that “it feels like we are going back to 2020 when Spotify had exclusives on its platform. That strategy failed after Spotify spent over $1bn. So why are Netflix and other platforms trying to replicate this strategy?” Spotify has spent more than $1 billion since 2019 on podcast acquisitions and exclusivity (Gimlet, Anchor, The Ringer, Megaphone, Joe Rogan). In February 2024 the Joe Rogan renewal opened the show to Apple, YouTube and Amazon. That ended Spotify's exclusivity strategy, and Julie McNamara, head of the podcast division, left the company.
The key difference from the first wave lies in the partner. This time Spotify did not go into exclusivity alone. It shares the costs and access to the audience with Netflix, which has more than 325 million global subscribers and, beyond video podcasts, is building a slate of 50 to 75 original podcast shows for 2026. The bet rests on the premise that the combination of two consumer apps with large bases can draw listeners away from YouTube where one platform alone could not.
Shetty in the context of top-tier podcast deals
Shetty's $100 million is a remarkable sum, but compared with earlier top-tier deals it is not a new record. Joe Rogan's renewal with Spotify in February 2024 was, according to Variety, valued at up to $250 million. Alex Cooper moved Call Her Daddy from Spotify to SiriusXM in August 2024 for up to $125 million, double her previous contract. Shetty's deal ranks below both.
According to TheNextWeb, On Purpose has run more than 800 episodes since its launch in 2019 and has more than a billion total listens. Its guests have included Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama and Tom Hanks. The show finished 24th on Spotify's 2025 U.S. podcast list. Alongside the podcast, Shetty has two further Netflix projects in the works, one scripted and one unscripted. The deal therefore goes hand in hand with a broader programming relationship.
Apple Podcasts builds on infrastructure, not exclusivity
In February 2026, Apple announced the integration of video podcasts directly into Apple Podcasts, with HLS streaming and dynamic ad insertion, including video host-read spots. The launch took place in spring 2026. The hosting partners at launch were Acast, ART19 (Amazon), Triton Omny Studio and SiriusXM Media. Apple says distribution remains free for creators and hosting providers, while ad networks pay an impression-based fee.
In her LinkedIn post, Carman added that “the company just launched video in its app, but video rights are becoming very expensive and important. Services want exclusivity. Will Spotify and Netflix allow video to end up there? Did Apple mistime its march into video for the biggest programs?” Apple today stands on technology infrastructure in video podcasts, but it has not yet entered nine-figure acquisitions of top-tier creator partners. Spotify and Netflix buy content, while Apple offers hosting and a monetisation layer.
A signal for European buyers
For European buyers, Shetty's deal is a readable signal of where ad inventory on top podcasters will be created in the coming quarters. Spotify is the dominant podcast platform in Europe, and Netflix has paying users in its regional markets with high engagement. If the “video exclusive on two apps, audio open” model proves itself with Shetty, expect replication with other creators who have a global audience. For brands, this means bookings with top podcasters will run through Spotify ad sales. For creators who were until now resident on YouTube, this is the first change in years.
Compared with the first wave of exclusives at the start of the 2020s, this bet looks different. It brings shared risk, a shared audience and shared ad sales through Spotify. Whether it works this time will be decided by July's figures for On Purpose on both apps, and by how many YouTube listeners are willing to switch.
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