Substack pushes into video with new studio and TV app

Publishing platform Substack has launched the Substack Recording Studio, a built-in tool designed for creators to pre-record and publish video content on the platform. The recording studio is available only on desktop and supports both solo videos and conversations with up to two guests. By integrating these features, the platform aims to simplify the workflow for creators who previously had to manage separate tools. According to the company, “Substack Studio brings all of those tools into one place.” Before this launch, creating video on the platform required creators to use a separate stack of tools, including a recording platform, a method to create and distribute clips, and software to design thumbnails.

The push into video is part of Substack’s strategy to encourage multimedia adoption among its writers and podcasters. To highlight the financial impact of the format, the company noted that creators who used audio or video on Substack in the past 90 days grew their revenue 50% faster than those who did not. To support this transition, Substack previously launched a $20 million Creator Accelerator Fund, which functions as a financial program to help creators migrate from other platforms. Although Substack has allowed creators to upload videos since 2022, these tools represent an effort to position the company as a competitor to platforms like Patreon.

In addition to the desktop studio, Substack is expanding its presence to living room devices with the launch of a TV app available on Apple TV and Google TV. This expansion mirrors an industry trend where market participants like Netflix and YouTube are seeing growth in long-form video and podcast consumption on television screens. The scale of this shift is illustrated by YouTube’s monthly podcast viewership data on living room devices:

• In 2024, viewers watched 400 million hours of podcasts per month on these devices.
• In 2025, monthly viewership on the same devices rose to 700 million hours.

Why it matters

Substack is continuing to invest in video content to position itself as a competitor to platforms like Patreon, betting that multimedia tools will drive faster revenue growth for creators.