Netflix’s upcoming partnership with Spotify and The Ringer marks a fascinating next step in how streamers are expanding beyond traditional video content, but it also raises serious questions about what drives engagement and longevity in the streaming age.
According to Deadline’s full breakdown, which you can read here: https://deadline.com/2025/10/netflix-spotify-ringer-podcast-deal-analysi...
The deal will bring 16 video podcasts to Netflix in 2026, covering sports, pop culture, true crime, and food. But noticeably absent from the slate? Comedy.
That omission is surprising given Netflix’s dominance in the stand-up space and the massive reach comedy podcasts already command across platforms. Data shows that comedy-driven video podcasts, think Kill Tony, Take Your Shoes Off, or Good Hang with Amy Poehler, outperform nearly every other category in both consistency and audience retention.
As Deadline points out, Netflix’s own Kill Tony: Kill or Be Killed special outperformed most of the platform’s other stand-up titles in the first half of 2025, drawing 8.8 million views in three months, more than late-night television averages per episode. These shows offer what Netflix craves most: high watch time, strong community loyalty, and endless “time on platform.”
So why not lead with comedy? The Ringer’s slate, while strong in brand recognition, doesn’t yet match the reach of the comedy podcast market, one that’s already shown how effectively it can blend live performance, serialized conversation, and audience engagement.
For producers, this conversation highlights a broader industry pivot worth paying attention to:
• Streamers are looking for new forms of “sticky” content, shows people will play in the background for hours.
• Comedy may be the most scalable genre in that regard, it’s cheap to produce, endlessly watchable, and thrives on personality-driven content.
• Video podcasts represent a hybrid model, half talk show, half series, that could redefine the economics of entertainment production.
If Netflix’s goal is to dominate not just what we watch but how long we stay watching, comedy may be its biggest untapped asset.
What do you think, should Netflix lean harder into comedy podcasts as part of its long-term streaming strategy?
And as producers, how might this growing intersection between streaming and podcasting influence how you develop or package your own projects?
Thank you, Shadow Dragu-Mihai, Esq., Ipg! This really helps!
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Hi, Shadow, check the (two page pitch for an) unscripted tv showTHE TRUMAN SHOW DELUSION under it's logline, and tell me if it could work? Good stand-up comedians made unrecognizable, and acting. They are stand-up comedians suffering from TSD.
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Rutger Oosterhoff 2 That reads like a scripted film to me. What is the unscripted (ie. real people in real situations) part? However, when pitching unscripted, it is important to understand that you m...
Expand commentRutger Oosterhoff 2 That reads like a scripted film to me. What is the unscripted (ie. real people in real situations) part? However, when pitching unscripted, it is important to understand that you must match the kind of show and its themes to the production companies and networks that might consider it. As well, there has to be a fair bit of wiggle room in the concept for the actual producers to put their specific stamp on it. So where would you like this concept to end up being produced by?
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Congrats on wrapping! Love the idea of opening this up to the community. Unscripted work is such a different beast—excited to learn from your experiences.
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Phuc Quang Vu Dao Thanks!