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The Telegraph is deliberately developing its podcasts into video franchises for YouTube, live events and possible paid offers. According to the British publisher, the podcast audience has grown by 161 percent within a year; the three daily news podcasts together reach around 2,4 million YouTube views on a weekly average.
The strategy is also interesting from a German perspective: since the end of June, the Telegraph Media Group has belonged to Axel Springer. When the takeover was completed, the group announced it would further expand subscription business, events and premium offers. The Telegraph is now developing its podcast brands precisely in this direction.
Video becomes the core of the podcast strategy
Executive Editor Matthew Bayley told Digiday that video is now a central part of podcast production. Formats such as The Daily T, Ukraine: The Latest and Iran: The Latest are no longer treated merely as audio offers, but as recurring video products with their own community.
The Telegraph currently runs five regular video podcasts and plans four more shows by the end of the year. At the same time, according to the publisher, the audio team was doubled this year to more than 40 people.
The strongest lever is YouTube: for "Ukraine: The Latest", the publisher reports a 115 percent increase in YouTube views over the past three months. "The Daily T" is additionally being extended through live events and special editions. From July 2025 to March 2026, total plays rose by 93 percent, according to The Telegraph.
If you want to put platform revenue in general into perspective, our overview of creator monetisation on YouTube, TikTok and Instagram offers current benchmarks. YouTube Shopping in Germany also shows how strongly YouTube is now combining video, community and commerce.
Memberships are meant to turn reach into direct revenue
For now, reach comes before monetisation. Bayley explicitly says that, so far, the focus is mainly on growing viewers, watch time and engagement. At the same time, The Telegraph is considering a separate podcast subscription as well as a YouTube membership programme. No concrete prices or launch date have been set yet.
For publishers, the approach is noteworthy because it separates distribution from customer loyalty: YouTube provides reach and recurring use, while memberships, events and dedicated subscriptions are meant to create more direct relationships. Digiday also frames the strategy as a response to declining and less reliable referral traffic from search and social.
When the Telegraph takeover was completed on 30 June 2026, Axel Springer officially announced it would accelerate digital transformation and in particular strengthen the subscription, event and premium business. The video podcast push therefore fits directly with the new ownership strategy.