Apple Podcasts is bringing video to its platform.
The longtime audio platform for podcasts will bring video to the Apple Podcasts app starting this spring. With this step, the company becomes the latest to jump on the growing popularity of video podcasts.
YouTube is the most popular platform for video podcasts, but Netflix has begun bringing video podcasts to the streaming service and Spotify, which had already made a big push toward video, has also been ramping up its video efforts.
In the Apple Podcasts app, users will be able to switch between watching and listening to shows, as is the case on Spotify, potentially setting them up as a more direct competitor Users can watch video from within the app and move to horizontal full display and download videos to watch offline.
At launch, Triton’s Omny Studio, SiriusXM, AdsWizz and Simplecast are partnering with Apple Podcasts on the video launch. This will also allow their creators to dynamically insert video ads, as well as host-read spots.
“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. “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.”
Video streaming, built on Apple’s iHTTP Live Streaming technology, is currently available for testing in beta and will come to iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro users and Apple Podcasts on the web this spring.