What once seemed like a shift is now a takeover as video has become inevitable in the podcasting space, and Brooklyn's podcaster industry embraces the new dynamic with optimism.
Video Killed the Radio Star by The Buggles was the first video played on MTV in 1981, and 45 years later, it remains an apt ode to the podcasting world. The issue of incorporating video into podcasts was often heard at the public sessions and on the sidelines during the On Air Festival at the Wythe Hotel in Williamsburg in February.
In the Creator Hall at OAF, the company Wistia produced an interactive pop-up for podcasters figuring out video. Their platform integrates with devices most creators already own to produce video podcasts, while providing a suite of marketing tools.
Adding video production can increase costs by as much as 77%, as creators invest in cameras, lighting, studio space, and editing workflows that match audience expectations shaped by YouTube, TikTok, and other streaming platforms. That said, it's a necessary cost as YouTube averaged 2.5 billion monthly active users and has become a primary consumption layer for podcasts. Young Millennials and Gen Z grew up on creator-led video, and the 12-34-year-old demographic is over half of the podcast market.
One of the most visible new additions to the Brooklyn podcast ecosystem is The Lighthouse, a members-only creative campus in Greenpoint that opened in late 2025. Based in the historic 1872 Eberhard Faber Pencil Factory, the space was developed by the Whalar Group, which created a production oasis inside the brutalist structure, spread over 30,000-square-feet, including a waterfront rooftop terrace.
To gain access, podcasters can try to secure a referral from The Lighthouse Creators Council, co-chaired by podcsters Colin & Samir, who vet all membership applications. Individual membership costs $5,750 per year to use the campus, and there's about 100 curated members already using the space.
The Lighthouse comes with a suite of amenities: video podcast studios, a music room, photography studios and sound stages, edit bays, test kitchens (with overhead cameras), private offices, a cafe, a rooftop garden, and a vinyl DJ/live broadcast setup, amongst other offerings.
Jon Goss, chief executive officer of The Lighthouse, says the space was built not just as a studio facility but as a modern broadcasting hub.
“The supply and consumption of ‘news’ is changing to local, independent voices who have audience trust and more editorial control of the stories they put out into the world," he told BK Reader.
Crown Heights resident Becca Ramos is a supervising producer at iHeart Media and also the host of Welcome To El Barrio, a podcast about Puerto Rican identity. She recorded and hosted an event at the facility, and gave three thumbs up to the new space.
“The staff is accommodating and professional, and the facility is gorgeous and state-of-the-art,” she said. “Everywhere else I’ve recorded is strictly recording studios. Lighthouse is a full-service facility, and there’s nothing like it in NYC.”
Ramos said video is the "necessary evil of podcasting."
"I see its value for show promotion, collaboration, new audience reach, and giving podcasters new avenues to connect with their listeners," she said. "But if your podcast requires video for it to be listenable, then it is not a podcast! A podcast should be able to stand alone, audio first."
GRAMMY-nominated poet, activist, and writer Kevin Powell, who recently taught New York high school students how to break into the media industry at a teen summit in Brooklyn, said he fears that youth from disadvantaged backgrounds will be left behind in the content creator economy.
“I am actually working in various New York City public schools with young people, teaching the basics of using their voices, including how to do podcasts," he said. "Our job as adults, especially those of us who have worked in media for many years, like me, and who have seen all the changes, is to present to our youth the many ways these skill sets can become life and career possibilities for them.”
