A UK publisher's shift towards video podcasts and paid membership offers a model Christian media organisations may recognise as they build direct audience relationships.
The Telegraph is expanding its podcast strategy beyond audio, building video, live events and paid membership tiers around its shows to build direct audience relationships. Company figures cited show its podcast audience growing sharply this year, with millions of weekly YouTube views on its news shows. The move reflects a wider industry pattern in which subscription publishers look past search and social platforms to hold onto audiences directly. For Christian media organisations, many of which also produce podcasts and rely on platforms they do not control, the strategy offers a working example of building franchises around video and membership rather than audio alone.
ECMS 2026 found that 44 per cent of under-35 respondents listen to Christian podcasts compared with 21 per cent of over-55s, a gap that echoes the video-led, younger-skewing audience growth The Telegraph reports.
Source: ECMS 2026