Apple has announced that it will bring a new integrated video podcast experience to Apple Podcasts this spring, introducing HTTP Live Streaming (HLS) technology that enables dynamic video ad insertion and expanded creator monetization options.

What’s Changing

The update allows users to switch between watching and listening to shows from the same feed, use picture-in-picture mode, and download video episodes for offline viewing. Automatic quality adjustment powered by HLS ensures smooth playback across Wi-Fi and cellular connections.

While Apple Podcasts has supported video through RSS (Really Simple Syndication) since 2005, those feeds were kept separate from audio versions of the same show. The new HLS format unifies both under a single feed and introduces adaptive video playback with greater in-app controls.

Creator and Advertiser Implications

For the first time on Apple Podcasts, creators will be able to dynamically insert video ads, including host-read spots, into episodes. Creators distribute through participating hosting providers and ad networks, retaining control over their content and monetization.

Apple said it will not charge creators or hosting providers to distribute content via HLS or traditional RSS/MP3. However, the company will charge participating ad networks an impression-based fee for delivering dynamic video ads through HLS, beginning later this year.

Launch hosting partners supporting HLS video include Acast, Amazon-owned ART19, Triton’s Omny Studio, and SiriusXM, including SiriusXM Media, AdsWizz, and Simplecast.

“Apple Podcasts is synonymous with podcasting itself. Bringing video to the platform is a defining moment – expanding what’s possible for creators, advertisers, and the medium as a whole,” said Greg Glenday, Acast’s CEO. “We’re ensuring that no creator or advertiser leaves revenue or reach on the table.”

Competitive Context

The announcement comes as video reshapes podcasting. According to Edison Research, approximately 37% of people aged 12 and older watch video podcasts monthly. YouTube reported more than 1 billion monthly active viewers of podcast content on its platform, while Spotify said it paid more than $100 million to podcasters in the first quarter of last year, according to CNBC. Netflix has also entered the space, inking a deal with Spotify to bring video podcasts to its platform and launching original video podcast programming.

“Twenty years ago, Apple helped take podcasting mainstream by adding podcasts to iTunes,” said Eddy Cue, Apple’s SVP 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.”

HLS video is currently available for testing in beta versions of iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, and visionOS 26.4, with a full rollout planned for spring across iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro, and the web.