How Goalhanger used video on Spotify to reach 50 million monthly plays and increase earnings
July 31, 2025
Tony Pastor's Goalhanger proves you can scale to 50 million monthly plays without losing your identity. Learn more about how the UK-based network used video, cross-promotion, and Spotify to grow its audience and income.
Goalhanger's video-first strategy produced:
5% increase in unique listeners
10% boost in consumption in Q1 2025
63% advertising revenue growth YoY
50 million monthly listeners reached
Ingredients:
Multiple shows with a singular network voice
Video production capabilities (doesn't need to be fancy, just consistent)
Spotify hosting
Spotify Partner Program enrollment
Cross-promotion strategy across your show slate
Access to subscriber-only content right on Spotify
International growth mindset
Community-building focus
Instructions:
1. Define your video rollout strategy across your content slate. Goalhanger picked a few of their shows first to add video on Spotify, and then expanded across their slate as they became more comfortable (and proficient) with video editing. Tony and the team never doubted “that video is the new frontier for podcasting” and would go a long way in improving retention, growing their fanbase, and increasing revenue.
2. Take advantage of Spotify's international reach. . In Tony’s words, video content gets "seen more, serviced more, promoted more." The network's series about Edward Snowden (aired on "The Rest is Classified") reached Spotify’s massive US user base, which helped them hit their biggest single-day numbers ever. What's more, growth across the pond wasn't limited to a single show in Golhanger's repertoire: “The Rest is History” now regularly cracks the top 30 on the US Spotify charts. Tony credits great hosts Tom and Dominic, but also acknowledges that "our partnership with Spotify has really helped us promote it in that region."
3.Make audience quality your biggest selling point. When pitching their slate to brands, Tony and the Goalhanger team lean into the fact that their shows enjoy a 40+ minute average listen time on Spotify, and often remind brands how young, smart, and engaged their Spotify fanbase is.
4. Stack multiple revenue streams around video. Video unlocks a series of monetization opportunities across several channels. Tony notes that they "are seeing growth in video consumption and, as a consequence, partner payments are rising" through the Spotify Partner Program. Goalhanger has also built a successful subscription model where paying members get early access to content they can consume all in one place on Spotify, bonus material, and access to priority live show tickets. Plus, outside of Spotify earnings, Tony’s also found that video "increases the value of every deal," thus creating more valuable sponsorship opportunities.
5. Turn your shows into discovery engines. In Tony’s words, “the best way to discover a podcast is on another podcast,” so drop short promos for other network shows within episodes. Chances are, there’s a natural overlap between your audiences (in Goalhangers' case, history lovers often enjoy politics content, and football fans might dig entertainment shows). So much so that when they surveyed "The Rest is Classified" listeners, they discovered the top five shows those fans watched were all Goalhanger productions.
View the full video with Goalhanger's Tony Pastor here:
Meet the creator and network
Tony Pastor runs a podcast empire from South London, though he'd probably wince at calling it that. Goalhanger feels more like a lively newsroom: 12 shows, 21 hosts, and a 50-person production team cranking out over 20 hours of weekly content that somehow maintains a singular voice across wildly different subjects.
There's something unmistakably Goalhanger about every show, whether it's weekend football analysis or deep historical rabbit holes. Tony calls it "a certain tone of voice,” one that’s “going to be intelligent, hopefully entertaining, and have hosts who are really smart and know their subjects really well.”
In 2023, the network began rolling out video across its slate, moving its hosting to Spotify and betting that audiences were keen on more than just audio. The gamble paid off with a 10% boost in consumption in Q1 of 2025. Goalhanger has also seen 63% advertising revenue growth year-over-year on Spotify.
We sat down with Tony to hear more about Goalhanger's journey with video and monetization on Spotify. Here’s what we learned.
Why Goalhanger bet big on video (and won)
Goalhanger approached video with conviction about where podcasting was headed. "We decided to add video to our shows on Spotify because we are great believers that video is the new frontier for podcasting," Tony explains. "We know that it helps with retention, helps grow new audiences, and frankly, there's a whole audience out there that just expects to see video now."
Funnily enough, Tony’s 20-year-old son made his point for him. The kid streams all his music on Spotify, but used to watch "The Rest is Football" elsewhere, specifically because he wanted video. Now, he stays on Spotify and devours three episodes weekly.
We decided to add video to our shows on Spotify because we are great believers that video is the new frontier for podcasting. We know that it helps with retention, helps grow new audiences, and frankly, there's a whole audience out there that just expects to see video now.
Goalhanger rolled out video strategically, first with select shows and then scaling up as they improved their production process. Throughout it all, the team held fast to the principle that audio should remain a priority. “We learned that the audio has to be primary, we've always got to make sure the audio is right, and the video increasingly became professionalized,” Tony explains.
Like many creators before them (see YouTuber Emily Fan, for example), Tony and the team quickly found that adding video on Spotify didn’t cannibalize Goalhanger’s other audiences. “While we're growing on Spotify, we're not seeing it affect our other channels at all,” says Tony. “Our other video channels are working just as successfully, so this is in addition to not taking away from.”
The numbers also validate Tony’s belief that video contributes to audience expansion and viewership. In Q1 of 2025, the network grew unique listeners by 5% and overall consumption by more than 10% on Spotify. "There was no effect on the audio; all the video audience was incremental," adds Tony. “So again, you're just finding a whole new audience."
While we're growing on Spotify, we're not seeing it affect our other channels at all. Our other video channels are working just as successfully, so this is in addition to not taking away from.
The cross-promotion strategy that reaches 50 million fans monthly
Networks perpetually strive to grow audiences both within their own ecosystem and across international borders. Goalhanger cracked the code when it figured out that, in Tony’s words, "the best way to promote a podcast is on another podcast."
In practice, this means the team runs short promos for other Goalhanger shows within their episodes. The strategy works because there's natural overlap (e.g., people who love "The Rest is History" often enjoy "The Rest is Politics"). Still, it’s important to note that they're attracting genuinely new fans (unique listeners and viewers), as opposed to shuffling existing ones around.
When they surveyed listeners of the newer show "The Rest is Classified," the top five shows those fans watched were all Goalhanger productions. The network touches 50 million people monthly, and Tony can trace the conversion funnel from promo to new listener.
Their greatest breakthrough came from tapping into Spotify’s massive US user base. Tony explains that when Goalhanger produced a series on Edward Snowden for “The Rest is Classified”, a relevant and interesting topic for international audiences, “our numbers jumped considerably. We had our best-ever 24-hour numbers [on Spotify].”
If you've got content with video, it will be seen more, serviced more, promoted more. There are all manner of ancillary benefits. We did a series on Edward Snowden on ‘The rest is classified’. We had our best-ever 24-hour numbers.
Their international footprint isn’t limited to a single show. "The Rest is History" now ranks among the handful of British shows that regularly crack the top 30 US podcast charts. Tony puts that down to a combination of factors: brilliant content (such as the “Titanic” series American audiences tuned in for with gusto), the hosts, Tom and Dominic, who “are terrific,” and “our partnership with Spotify” that “has really helped us to promote it in that region.”
Goalhanger's Spotify audience stays longer and spends more
Creators often praise the value of the Spotify audience, and Goalhanger’s experience further validates that sentiment.
"What we've discovered is that the audience that engages with our content on Spotify watches or listens for a long period. Our average consumption time is around 41 minutes, which I think is remarkable in the modern world," Tony observes. "I think it's cause for great optimism because our audience on Spotify is younger than on other platforms, and yet they are not scrolling through social media. They are listening and watching for lengthy periods to intelligent content."
What we've discovered is that the audience that engages with our content on Spotify watches or listens for a long period. I think it's cause for great optimism because our audience on Spotify is younger than on other platforms, and yet they are not scrolling through social media. They are listening and watching for lengthy periods to intelligent content.
Where genuine engagement exists, community often follows. Goalhanger has cultivated what Tony describes as a "podcast family," strengthened by Spotify's ability to showcase subscriber content directly on the platform. With a growing number of paying members, they've created an exclusive club where super fans receive early access to content, bonus materials, and priority to get tickets for live shows. "We've found it has really moved the dial, and our subscription clubs continue to grow," Tony adds.
Such enviable engagement does literal numbers for Goalhanger’s revenue outside of subscriptions. Tony’s top tip for pitching to advertisers is, after all, "to remind them about the level of engagement of our audience. How young they are,, and how they are listening for such a long time."
We are seeing growth in video consumption and as a consequence, Partner payments are rising.
Along with engagement levels, video also amplified Goalhanger’s monetization potential exponentially. Once it became central to their shows, conversations with brands changed entirely because video “increases the value of every deal." The same truth holds for income coming in from Spotify. As Tony explains, "the Spotify Partner Program is definitely working and improving revenue. We are seeing growth in video consumption and as a consequence, Partner payments are rising."
Build something bigger with video on Spotify
From a South London office producing 20-plus hours of weekly content, Tony and the Goalhanger team built something that reaches 50 million people monthly. And they did so while maintaining the intimate, intelligent conversations that made them special in the first place.
