Apple today announced a transformative update coming to Apple Podcasts this spring that will bring advanced video podcast capabilities to the app. This enhanced video podcast experience uses Apple’s industry-leading HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) technology to set a new standard that empowers podcast creators with unprecedented control and monetization opportunities while delivering the highest-quality viewing experience for users.
Oh boy. Here we go. If it wasn’t confusing enough when it comes to separating what is a Podcast and what’s a low budget talk show1, Apple fires away — and at Podcasting rivals YouTube, Spotify, and Netflix — with an update due to hit with iOS 26.4.
How is this supposed to work?
In the Apple Podcasts app, users will be able to switch seamlessly between watching and listening to shows, making the experience of discovering and viewing video podcasts as simple and enjoyable as listening to audio podcasts has always been. Users can watch video from within the app and move to horizontal full display, as well as download videos to watch offline. And automatic quality adjustment powered by HLS technology ensures smooth playback across network conditions, delivering the best possible experience whether listeners are on Wi-Fi or a cellular connection. Video episodes will integrate with existing features Apple Podcasts users already love, including personalized recommendations and editorial curation on the New tab and in Category pages.
So, if I’m reading this right, the key difference is that in the player itself, podcasts will be able to be swapped between audio and video on the fly.
A slick idea, but call me a cranky old man — it kinda flies in the face of what made podcasting so great in the first place.
It democratized distribution. It made it so anyone with a mic and a bit of hosting could build something from nothing. Audio files were just small enough, and the editing “easy” enough, that anyone could turn their ramblings into a success, whether via ads or other ways of fans sponsoring them (like Patreon).
But now if you’re a celebrity, you need a podcast.
Who cares about what, just keep your name out there. Get yourself that Smartless money!
Sure, the ad money bubble has burst, but Netflix is paying for podcasts now! Are they taking any risks? Of course not, they’re porting over existing properties or paying name celebs to start “podcasting”.
It used to be that, like with radio, podcasting was a place you could relax. No stress, don’t need to get put together, make something with your friends2, and maybe it will resonate with the world.
Instead, they’re now fully functioning television-style programs. Hair, makeup, lighting…
…and is it a real surprise that this is being held exclusive to being distributors, too?
Acast; ART19, an Amazon company; Triton’s Omny Studio; and SiriusXM, inclusive of SiriusXM Media, AdsWizz, and Simplecast, are supporting HLS video at launch, with additional providers to join in the future.
Much like why I keep banging the drum on things like owning your own website, using RSS and making the web your own…it sure seems like another frontier is being lost to the machine.
I’d love to be proven wrong. But lately? My gut’s on the side of things getting worse before they’re better.