Netflix Is Betting on 1 Thing To Win the Streaming Wars — and It's About To Get Very Messy

Podcasting has moved from the margins into the mainstream, and Netflix is diving in headfirst at scale in 2026. On the surface, the move looks extremely lucrative. Podcasts are relatively inexpensive to produce, increase time on-platform, and let Netflix compete directly with social media and traditional networks. It is lining up more than 36 shows through exclusive deals with Spotify, iHeartMedia, and Barstool Sports, alongside a slate of in-house titles. These include The Pete Davidson Show, featuring “no-holds-barred conversations” from the comedian’s garage. However, if this ambitious strategy succeeds, how does a global corporation decide which voices to amplify, and what responsibility does it bear for the ideas it distributes?

Netflix Wants to Keep You Watching Its Podcasts All Day Long

Since its online launch, Netflix has been positioned as a nighttime activity built around prestige drama and bingeable series. Now it is ready to compete for attention throughout the day. Podcasts keep users logged in for long stretches and encourage habitual viewing. This is a competitive space dominated by social media and traditional networks, all built to hook, tease, and autoplay. Netflix has already been testing content designed to increase watch-time through live events such as WWE Royal Rumble, and high-risk stunts like Skyscraper Live. But it’s with podcasting that Netflix goes beyond attention-grabbing and into influencing.

Unlike its cousin radio, which relies on a rotation of presenters, well-sourced news, and differing viewpoints, podcasts are chosen deliberately by listeners based on interest. They create strong communities that reinforce identity and belief. Netflix is positioning podcasts as a modern replacement for daytime television, a format that has long shaped public opinion, but does so under clear editorial oversight and regulatory expectations. Podcasting, by contrast, grew as a freer, more informal medium prone to controversy and the spread of unchallenged ideas. Daytime television has an equally rocky relationship with sensationalism, as hours must be filled and audiences kept engaged, so discussions tend to escalate and lean into controversy. As Netflix builds its podcast slate, it remains unclear whether these shows will follow the same path, gradually drifting toward more extreme or divisive content as engagement incentives take hold.

Podcasts Are Rife With Controversy, and Netflix Has Set Itself Up For Drama

Podcasts regularly attract criticism for offensive remarks, controversial guests, and irresponsible commentary, regardless of the genre. For now, Netflix appears to be betting that sports and entertainment are safe categories that frame opinion as entertainment rather than authority. How long can they sustain engagement by playing it safe? Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO podcast is a good example of this shift. Originally framed around conversations with business leaders, the series has increasingly featured guests linked to pseudo-science or to brands in which Bartlett has personally invested. Most recently, Bartlett led a discussion with Chris Williamson around why there is a declining birthrate. Williamson, who started his career as a contestant on the reality television series Love Island, argued that it is down to women being “anti-family.” Yet Bartlett's critics, including one YouTuber who described him as “a Trojan horse for the manosphere,” believe the shift is driven by the need to keep people listening.

Netflix has aligned itself with controversy from the outset and made a "safe" bet on sports. The streamer has launched a multi-year deal with Barstool to host video versions of Pardon My Take, The Ryen Russillo Podcast, and Spittin’ Chiclets. It is hard to ignore how this deal links the company to founder Dave Portnoy and his long-documented history of controversy. According to outlets like Business Insider, Portnoy has routinely made “toxic” and "misogynist" comments, which he reframes as humor, saying audiences should treat his work as a “comedy reality show” rather than “a news network.” That is the root of the problem here. Netflix’s willingness to partner with Barstool, despite its founder’s negative press, underscores how strongly existing audience engagement is being prioritized by the platform. Personality-led sports shows are not inherently brand safe, even when framed by Netflix as entertainment. While live results and analysis are a main focus, sports podcasts still need to make episodes away from game day. In those moments, discussion often shifts toward speculation and shock-jock-style banter over quality sports journalism. As Netflix VP, Lauren Smith said in announcing the Barstool deal, “This partnership…delivers exactly what our members crave: unfiltered commentary, sharp takes, and undeniable humor.” But how does Netflix ensure commentary is unfiltered without bringing its reputation into question?

Netflix Should Consider Its Influence In Its New Position As A Broadcaster

With podcasting, Netflix is no longer just a content distributor. It has positioned itself as a broadcaster, possibly without editorial control. Established broadcasters already have these pillars in place. The BBC is bound to a public service charter and must uphold impartiality due to the influence that comes with its platform size. Netflix, however, will not want to be seen as censoring or suppressing free speech. The challenge is managing a format that developed outside these editorial structures while preserving the freedom that made it influential in the first place. A similar approach to Netflix's series and films, which are already given a TV Parental Guideline or MPA rating, could be implemented to allow certain subjects to be included, but with a content warning attached. Commercial revenue will inevitably influence how much risk Netflix is willing to take over time. On YouTube, advertiser-safe categories play a key role in determining what is amplified and monetized. As brands are unwilling to associate themselves with offensive material, creators are encouraged to make “advertiser-friendly” videos and must declare this at upload. Yet there is almost always someone willing to pay for exposure, even when it is driven by outrage.

Netflix’s move into podcasting is lucrative, bringing existing audiences to the platform while allowing the streamer to create new original shows tied to its IP. Yet at the same time, the streamer now carries real responsibility for the voices it amplifies and the influence it wields. If it truly wants to replace daytime TV, chasing prolonged attention at all costs risks repeating the same mistakes and damaging its carefully built reputation. But if it uses its reach carefully, Netflix can push the podcast format forward on a scale we haven’t seen from a single company before.