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PIVOT TO VIDEO

In the world of podcasts, YouTube is now the elephant in the room — just like in TV

Podcasts are increasingly YouTube ft. everyone else — even tech giants like Amazon are restructuring to favor video-first podcasts led by hosts with big personalities.

Claire Yubin Oh

8/6/25 10:12AM

Earlier this week, Amazon announced it would be restructuring its Wondery podcast business as the landscape increasingly shifts toward host-centric, video-integrated shows.

About 110 staff will be cut from the move, as first reported by Bloomberg, including the division’s CEO, Jen Sargent. Wondery’s existing narrative-driven studio and series will be moved under Amazon’s Audible banner, while personality-focused shows, like Jason and Travis Kelce’s podcast, “New Heights,” will find a home at Wondery’s new “creator services” team, per a memo shared by Business Insider.

The tech giant has largely allowed Wondery to operate independently since its acquisition in 2020, but the latest reorganization signals that Amazon’s $300 million bet into podcasts is getting more focused.

Podcast yourself

Amazon’s decision comes as the podcast industry reinvents itself. In June, Spotify laid off 5% of staff in its podcast division, while radio conglomerate Audacy shut down its audio-centric podcast business Pineapple Street Studios after nine years.

The elephant in the room of all of this upheaval is YouTube — the silly viral internet video giant that became a TV, music, advertising, and now podcast giant. Per an April survey by Cumulus Media and media research firm Signal Hill Insights, 39% of all weekly podcast consumers use YouTube as their primary platform, more than double the share from late 2019. The video platform estimated that more than a billion people a month are watching podcasts as of February.

Youtube dominates the podcast sphere — Sherwood News

A large part of that domination comes from how podcast listeners across generations now consume the medium differently — nearly three-quarters of the respondents said they watch podcasts more often than listening to podcasts. That’s quite a stat for an “audio” medium.

YouTube’s domination echoes its success in TV — where it is routinely beating out Disney, Netflix, Paramount, and NBCUniversal.

Main character energy

At the heart of those video-integrated podcast shows are big personality hosts like Joe Rogan, Mel Robbins, and Amy Poehler, who, with their charisma and consistent jokes, amass legions of highly engaged, targeted listeners (and watchers).

Indeed, since YouTube started to share the most popular podcast shows on the platform in May, host-centric podcasts have been topping the leaderboard consistently in the US, with six out of the top 10 shows revolving around the host’s persona, according to the latest released weekly top 10 (starting July 21).

Host-centric podcasts dominate the charts — Sherwood News

To get a sense of how much things have changed, think of the viral podcast appearances of the 2024 presidential campaign, with former Vice President Kamala Harris on “Call Her Daddy” and President Donald Trump on Joe Rogan’s podcast. Video? Tick. Personality hosts? Tick. The biggest podcasts of the day being true crime shows are long gone.

These days, podcasts are things you can watch, listen, or multitask to — a bit like the late-night talk show format that is, ironically, struggling so much on linear TV.

Max Knoblauch14h

Used car prices dip in April but remain at 2023 levels as gas prices surge

Used car prices ticked down in April, the first drop in 2026, according to fresh data from Cox Automotive.

Cox’s Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index, which tracks wholesale prices, dipped 1.6% in April from March, but remains around highs not seen since 2023 as shoppers react to surging gas prices.

“Affordability remains front and center, and that’s driving some increased demand for older vehicles... as well as changing the calculus for consumers shopping for EVs,” said Cox’s chief economist, Jeremy Robb.

As reported in March, used car retailers including CarMax have told Sherwood News that gas prices are driving more shoppers to look toward EVs. Cox’s EV index is up 7.2% from April 2025, compared to a 1.1% hike for its non-EV index.

Tom Jones

gear shift

5/6/26

Harley-Davidson hopes getting “Back to the Bricks” will help turn its motorcycle business around

Its ~$1 billion financial services segment has helped keep the company ticking over in the meantime.

Harley-Davidson motorcycles cruising along scenic road during European Bike Week, showcasing vibrant atmosphere and camaraderie among riders

Max Knoblauch5/5/26

Xbox CEO overhauls leadership team with Microsoft AI execs amid sales declines

Microsoft is continuing to shake up Xbox, with gaming chief Asha Sharma (who took over the division suddenly in February) announcing an executive overhaul.

According to an internal memo seen by CNBC, Sharma is bringing four leaders from her former CoreAI group into the Xbox fold, as they have “consumer and technical expertise [Xbox does] not yet have.”

“Right now, it is too hard to ship impact quickly. We spend too much time inward instead of with the community, and we lack the depth we need in some of the fundamentals,” Sharma said in the memo.

Aside from the CoreAI team, David Schloss, a former Instacart growth exec, will take over the subscription and cloud business.

Following Microsoft’s earnings report last week, in which Xbox console sales fell 33% from last year, Sharma said the division had work to do. The company forecast more sales declines for Game Pass and consoles in the current quarter.

Microsoft Xbox CEO overhauls leadership amid sinking sales: 'We need to evolve how we work'

Aside from the CoreAI team, David Schloss, a former Instacart growth exec, will take over the subscription and cloud business.

Max Knoblauch5/4/26

Ford’s April EV sales climb from March but make up less than 2% of its total sales this year

Ford sold 22% more EVs in April than in March, but the category makes up just 1.7% of the automaker’s total 2026 sales through April. At the same point last year, EVs were about 4% of sales.

The company released its April sales figures Monday morning, with EVs climbing sequentially but still down nearly 25% from last year. Its more popular hybrids were down 5% from March and about 33% from last year.

Overall, Ford posted a 14.4% drop in sales in April from last year. SUVs were down more than 16%, trucks fell more than 14%, and cars (the company doesn’t sell many) climbed 18%.

When it reported its Q1 earnings last week, Ford boosted its full-year guidance for adjusted earnings before interest and taxes to between $8.5 billion and $10.5 billion.

Rani Molla5/4/26

Amazon opens up its supply chain to everyone

Today Amazon unveiled Supply Chain Services, a new business that turns the vast warehousing and logistics network behind its e-commerce empire into a product for other companies — an AWS-style move applied to the physical world.

As Amazon put it: “Any business can now move, store, and deliver everything from raw materials to finished products using the same supply chain that supports Amazon and its independent selling partners.”

That could make Amazon a behind-the-scenes operator for an even wider swath of commerce, expanding its reach beyond its marketplace and helping it capture more of the $1.3 trillion third-party logistics market.

Shares of traditional shipping companies UPS and FedEx fell after the announcement.

Amazon listed Procter & Gamble, 3M, and American Eagle among the logistics service’s first customers.

Introducing Amazon Supply Chain Services: Amazon’s logistics network, now open to every business