What platform do you use to stream podcasts? Spotify? Apple Podcasts? TuneIn? Well, soon you may be able listen to — and watch — your favorite podcasts on Netflix.

To stay competitive in a persistently fierce streaming market, Netflix has worked out a deal to stream some video podcasts from Spotify, including several sports talk shows, some true crime shows, and pop culture shows.  

What's the strategy here? To discuss, “Marketplace Morning Report” host David Brancaccio was joined by Carnegie Mellon's Michael D. Smith, a professor of information technology and public policy. The following is an edited transcript of their conversation.

David Brancaccio: Help me understand this. This is more about Netflix becoming a distribution system for podcasts that, in many cases, already do video?

Michael D. Smith: I think this is a great deal for both Spotify and Netflix. There's value here on both sides. So Spotify has these podcasts that also have a video component. And guess what? Netflix has a great video platform that a lot of people use to discover new content.

Brancaccio: I see. Let me understand what Netflix gets out of this in your view.

Smith: Well, Netflix gets new content, and if you look at the sort of shows they're getting, what I see is new content that is going to tell Netflix a lot about the user. So, you know, people who watch "The Bill Simmons Podcast,” Netflix is going to is going to know something about them and is going to be able to promote content to them, versus "The Rewatchables," versus "Recipe Club," versus "Serial Killers." When they see me watching those shows, they're gonna know a little bit about me and are gonna be able to promote content to me much, much more easily than they otherwise could.

Brancaccio: Aha. Our consumer data is at play here. Spotify, what do they get out of this? I mean, their niche is audio, I guess.

Smith: Honestly, when I go to Spotify, I'm going to listen to stuff, and when I go to Netflix, I'm going to watch stuff. So I think what Spotify gets out of this is access to a new audience on a platform where people are there to watch video. The other thing I think Spotify gets out of this is the potential to keep Netflix out of the podcast game.

Brancaccio: There's a brand we haven't mentioned here. You get the feeling that both Netflix and Spotify are looking over their shoulder. It begins with a "Y." What brand might I be thinking about?

Smith: Yeah, I'm just guessing: YouTube. So let's address the elephant in the room here. They both get out of this the possibility of doing a better job of competing with YouTube. So I think when they look at each other in this deal, they say, "You know what, the enemy of my enemy is my friend. Let's create something where we both can do a better job of competing against YouTube."

Brancaccio: Is it fair to say that Netflix has a better-heeled audience than, say, YouTube?

Smith: That's my sense, right, is by doing this, they're going after the top end of the market, and we'll let YouTube keep the bottom end of the market.

Brancaccio: Audio with pictures. I look forward to the time when they have a camera up my nose. Trust me, I'm a handsome fellow at 2:15 a.m. Pacific Time, but there's no way to stop it, right? I mean, people just want video with their content. That's what people are used to.

Smith: That's what we seem to be finding, is we started with these podcasts, is audio, and people discover, actually, it's a whole lot more fun to watch Conan O'Brien and Sona with video. So I think that's where it's moving, and I think this Spotify-Netflix deal has a lot of value for both sides.