Apple finally embraces video podcasts to keep pace with Spotify and YouTube

Apple Podcasts

• Apple Podcasts to introduce video support this spring
• Users can switch between audio and video in the same podcast feed
• HLS support enables dynamic video ads and offline video downloads

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Apple has announced that Apple Podcasts will soon support a new integrated video podcast experience, reflecting how video has become central to how audiences now consume podcasts.

The update is set to roll out this spring and will allow listeners to seamlessly switch between audio and video within the same podcast feed. Users will be able to watch episodes directly inside the Apple Podcasts app, use picture-in-picture mode, and download video episodes for offline viewing.

The move comes as video rapidly reshapes podcasting. According to Edison Research, around 37 percent of people aged 12 and over now watch video podcasts every month, a figure that has pushed major platforms to rethink how podcasts are distributed and monetised.

Apple’s announcement brings its podcast app closer to rivals like Spotify and YouTube, both of which have heavily invested in video podcasts over the past few years. Even Netflix has begun experimenting with the format, signalling how mainstream video podcasting has become.

“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. “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.”

Technically, Apple Podcasts has supported video via RSS feeds since 2005, but video and audio versions of shows were handled separately. The upcoming update changes that by introducing support for HLS, or HTTP Live Streaming, Apple’s own adaptive streaming protocol. HLS enables smoother playback, better quality control, and tighter integration within the app.

The shift also unlocks new monetisation options. The HLS format supports dynamic video ad insertion, allowing creators to include video ads, including host-read spots, directly into episodes. Apple says it will not charge creators or hosting platforms to distribute video podcasts, but it will charge participating ad networks an impression-based fee for delivering dynamic video ads through the system.

Several major podcast hosting platforms are already on board, including Acast, Amazon-owned ART19, Triton’s Omny Studio, and SiriusXM, all of which will support HLS video distribution at launch.

Apple’s move comes as competition in podcasting intensifies. YouTube has said it now has more than one billion monthly active viewers for podcast content, while Spotify reported paying over $100 million to podcasters in a single quarter last year as it pushed deeper into creator monetisation.

Netflix, meanwhile, has begun investing in original video podcasts after striking a deal with Spotify and launching shows such as The Pete Davidson Show earlier this year.

While Apple does not break out Apple Podcasts revenue specifically, the platform sits within Apple’s fast-growing Services business, which generated around $30 billion in revenue in the company’s most recent quarter.

The timing of the update is also notable. In January, Apple quietly acquired Israeli AI startup Q.ai, which had been working on audio-focused artificial intelligence tools. Apple has not disclosed how that technology will be used, but the expansion into video podcasts suggests the company is laying the groundwork for more advanced audio and media features in the future.