Podcasts on YouTube and in your podcast app: how to hear and watch them in one place

The short version

• Over a billion people watch podcasts on YouTube each month; in Germany 60 % of listeners under 30 also watch video podcasts.
• A podcast with an open RSS feed plays in any podcast app, wherever it first appeared. Only platform exclusives stay put.
• Bring them together in three steps: look for the open feed, follow YouTube-only shows as a channel, use an app that mixes audio and video.
• In zentr, RSS episodes and YouTube videos land in the same inbox and queue. How zentr handles podcasts.

people watch podcasts on YouTube every month (YouTube, 2025)

1bn+

of Americans 12+ have consumed a podcast (Edison Research, 2025)

73%

of Americans consider YouTube-only discussion videos to be podcasts (Edison, 2025)

52%

How podcasts got so scattered

YouTube became the biggest podcast platform

In early 2025 YouTube announced that more than a billion people watch podcasts on the platform every month. In the US, Edison Research now ranks YouTube as the most-used podcast platform, ahead of the classic podcast apps. Many new shows now launch straight as video, with two microphones in shot.

An open podcast is just a podcast

Most podcasts, though, are still published the classic way, via an RSS feed, an open subscription address any podcast app can read. That includes many shows you mainly know from YouTube. A podcast with an open feed is simply a podcast: you can play it in any podcast app, often even as video, no matter where it first appeared. Audio remains the norm; video is growing mostly among younger listeners.

What that means for you

• Two apps for one habit. A podcast app for the audio shows, YouTube for the video talks.
• No shared overview. To see what's new this week, you have to check every app separately.
• No shared queue. The podcast episode, then the YouTube interview, then music – only with constant app switching.
• Separate progress. Each app remembers its own position, if at all.
• The algorithm has a say. Open YouTube for one talk, and you quickly end up in recommendations instead of the next episode.

How to bring your podcasts back together

1. Check for an open feed

Many shows you know from YouTube also have a regular RSS feed. Search for the name in Apple Podcasts: if it shows up there, it works in any podcast app. Only a few shows have no open feed at all, such as exclusives on individual platforms like Spotify – those stay in that platform's app.

2. Follow YouTube-only shows as a channel

If a show only exists on YouTube, follow the channel instead of drifting through the home feed. How to do that without the recommendation spiral is covered in YouTube without the algorithm.

3. Use an app that mixes audio and video

The real win comes when everything lands in the same inbox: new episodes via RSS, new videos from your YouTube channels, plus new albums and audio drama episodes from Apple Music if you like. That's what zentr is built for.

How zentr handles podcasts

• Audio and video podcasts via RSS, with search through Apple's podcast directory, private feed links and OPML import to move over from another app. Video podcasts play right in zentr, picture-in-picture included, so they keep running while you use another app.
• YouTube channels as a source, right next to your podcasts – for shows that only exist on YouTube.
• One inbox for everything new. Filters by section (say, podcasts only) and by audio or video keep it tidy.
• One queue you mix with drag and drop: podcast, then YouTube talk, then album.
• Playback speed, chapters, transcripts, auto-play and offline downloads, as you'd expect from a good podcast app.

How zentr stacks up against Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts and Castro – including where the others are better – is in our podcast player comparison.