Apple is attempting to take on rivals YouTube and Spotify with a new integrated video podcast experience on Apple Podcasts.
The video experience will be launched in spring and comes as Spotify, YouTube, and even Netflix have increasingly leaned into video podcasting.
Video podcasts are booming in popularity, with around 37% of people over age 12 watching them monthly, according to Edison Research.
With the new update, users will be able to seamlessly switch between watching and listening to podcasts on the Apple Podcasts app.
“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,” Apple’s senior vice president of services, Eddy Cue, said in a media release.
“Today marks a defining milestone in that journey. 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.”
While Apple Podcast has supported video through RSS since 2005, this was always kept separate from the audio versions of the same show.
The update brings support for HLS, aka HTTP Live Streaming, a streaming protocol developed by Apple that enables adaptive video playback and greater controls in the app.
The 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 would not charge creators or hosting providers to distribute content, but will charge participating ad networks an impression-based fee for delivering dynamic video ads through HLS.
The HLS format will be supported by partners like Acast, Amazon-owned ART19, Triton’s Omny Studio and SiriusXM.
“For publishers, marketers, and creators, HLS video on Apple Podcasts brings a fresh opportunity to grow their businesses,” SiriusXM’s chief advertising revenue officer Scott Walker said.
This comes as competitors continue investing in podcast video.
YouTube said it had more than 1 billion monthly active viewers of podcasts last year, and Spotify expanded its podcast offerings and said it paid more than US$100 million to podcasters in the first quarter of last year.
Netflix also entered the podcast space through a deal with Spotify to bring podcasts to Netflix.
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.
Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) shares finished 2.27% lower on Friday at US$255.78. Its market cap is US$3.76 trillion.
