Netflix Paid Jay Shetty $100M to Walk Away from YouTube

Jay Shetty has recently signed a 9-figure deal to bring the video version of his mental health podcast, On Purpose, exclusively to Netflix and Spotify. The contract lasts for multiple years and is collectively worth over $100 million.

From July 13, 2026, full-length video episodes of On Purpose will no longer be available on YouTube. 

What started as a Hindu monk speaking into a microphone turned into a bidding-war between two of the biggest social media companies on earth - all for access to what Jay Shetty built.

On YouTube, On Purpose has 5.6 million subscribers and generates approximately 15 million views per month. The fact that Shetty is walking away from that signals Netflix and Spotify’s confidence that the audience will follow. 

YouTube has been the major beneficiary of the podcasting boom. Netflix and Spotify are spending $100 million on a single person to build a content infrastructure that can compete with YouTube. 

This is what it all means:

Platforms are still the distribution channels.

But the power lies with the creator.

When Jay Shetty started, a 9-figure deal was never his goal. What he truly wanted was for people to gain legitimate insights on mental health, happiness, and personal growth.

Beyond the billions of listens and millions of followers, what the vision cultivated was a trusted audience that uses Shetty as a resource for achieving the life they desire to build.

The principle is simple for any creator. When done right, your audience will always be yours.

This isn’t a shifting of allegiance story. It’s proof that what you build can transcend any platform that you’re on.