The Ringer is part of a podcasting expansion for Netflix, and founder Bill Simmons believes there’s value on the platform that YouTube can’t provide.
In October 2025, Netflix revealed it had struck a multimillion-dollar deal with Spotify to bring some of the company’s video podcasts to the digital video streaming platform. Included in that deal were shows from The Ringer, like The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Ringer F1 Show, The Ringer Fantasy Football Show, The Ringer NFL Show, and The Ringer NBA Show, among others.
Simmons’ show began airing on the platform in January. The Ringer’s Managing Director, Geoff Chow, said that the deal between the company and Netflix is a “financial agreement that’s beneficial to everyone.”
In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Bill Simmons argued that being on Spotify is more than enough to capture the podcast crowd, arguing that if a show is on YouTube, it’s likely on Spotify.
That’s when Simmons took aim at YouTube, arguing that he sees having long-form episodes of shows on Netflix, with still having the ability to post clips and shorts to YouTube as the best case scenario.
“With YouTube, you’re trading off something for something every time, but Netflix actually cares about having us on the platform,” said Simmons. “They’re promoting us. We’re working with them. We’re innovating with them. YouTube has kind of this attitude, like, you’re lucky to be on YouTube, which congrats to them, but I’m not sure how long that’s sustainable.”
Bill Simmons added that the media landscape has changed so dramatically that being devoted to just one platform no longer works.
“You kind of can’t tell people how to consume something. You almost have to work with them. It’s like a negotiation,” concluded Simmons.
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