Apple Podcasts on App Store displayed on a phone screen is seen in this illustration photo taken in Poland on June 5, 2024. (Photo by Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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Apple on Monday announced that it will bring a new integrated video podcast experience to Apple Podcasts this spring.
The move comes as video viewership continues to reshape podcasting. About 37% of people over age 12 watch video podcasts monthly, according to Edison Research.
The update brings Apple Podcasts more in-line with its competitors Spotify, YouTube and now Netflix, which have increasingly leaned into video podcasting.
“Twenty years ago, Apple helped take podcasting mainstream by adding podcasts to iTunes, and more than a decade ago, we introduced the dedicated Apple Podcasts app,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice president of Services, in a statement. “By bringing a category-leading video experience to Apple Podcasts, we’re putting creators in full control of their content and how they build their businesses, while making it easier than ever for audiences to listen to or watch podcasts.”
Within the Apple Podcasts app, users will be able to switch seamlessly between watching and listening to shows from the same feed. They can also use picture-in-picture mode and download video episodes for offline viewing.
While Apple Podcasts has supported video through RSS since 2005, those feeds were kept separate from audio versions of the same show. The new update introduces support for HLS, or HTTP Live Streaming, a streaming protocol developed by Apple that enables adaptive video playback and greater controls within the app.
The new HLS format also introduces dynamic video ad insertion. Creators who distribute through participating hosting providers and ad networks will be able to insert video ads, including host-read spots, into episodes.
Apple said it will not charge creators or hosting providers to distribute content. However, it will charge participating ad networks an impression-based fee for delivering dynamic video ads through HLS.
These launch podcast hosting partners include Acast, Amazon-owned ART19, Triton’s Omny Studio and SiriusXM who will all be supporting HLS video.
The announcement comes as competitors continue investing in podcast video. YouTube said last year it has more than 1 billion monthly active viewers of podcast content on its platform. Spotify has also expanded its video podcast offerings and said it paid more than $100 million to podcasters in the first quarter of last year.
Netflix has also entered the video podcast space. The streaming platform inked a deal with Spotify last year to bring video podcasts to Netflix and has begun investing in original video podcast programming, including “The Pete Davidson Show,” which launched in January.
Apple does not break out revenue specifically for Apple Podcasts, but its Services segment, which includes digital content and subscription businesses, generated $30 billion in revenue in its most recent quarter.
In January, the company acquired Israeli artificial intelligence startup Q.ai for an undisclosed amount. The company has not released details of the acquisition, though Q.ai’s website indicated it was working on audio-focused AI tools.