Apple has announced it is introducing new video podcast capabilities to its Apple Podcasts platform, embracing the convergence of audio and video through new tools which will streamline the video experience on the app, while also adding new video advertising capabilities.
While podcasters have already been able to upload video versions of their content to Apple Podcasts, video versions of podcasts have had to be uploaded separately from their purely audio counterparts. As a result, Apple has lacked the experience to switch seamlessly between the two formats, a feature which is available within rival platform Spotify. And a number of major podcasts which distribute video content on other platforms have historically chosen not to on Apple.
Apple Podcasts will now also support HTTP live streaming (HLS) technology, which essentially downloads video content in small chunks and optimises the quality of video playback based on the speed of the user’s internet connection. The introduction of full-screen video and the ability to download video podcasts for offline viewing are also designed to improve the user experience.
But while Apple says these changes will be beneficial for podcast listeners, they’re also clearly designed to court podcast creators through the introduction of dynamic video ad insertion. HLS video podcasts will only be available through partnered third-party hosting providers Acast, ART19, Omny Studio and SiriusXM, all of which have advertising capabilities. Working through these partners, podcast creators will be able to dynamically insert video ads, including host-read spots, with Apple charging the ad networks themselves an impression-based fee. This offers a different model to Spotify and YouTube, which both ultimately control monetisation of video podcasts themselves.
Putting the pod back in podcasting
Apple is intrinsically tied to the history of podcasting — the ‘pod’ in the name of the medium comes from Apple’s iPod range of MP3 players. The introduction of podcasts onto Apple’s iTunes audio software, which users could then download and listen to on the move via their iPods, helped popularise the medium.
Nowadays, rival platforms are much more popular with audiences for listening to (or watching) podcasts. Data from the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism last year placed Apple as the third most popular platform in the US, behind YouTube and Spotify, and the fourth most popular in the UK.
Podcasts, and video podcasts in particular, continue to grow in popularity. And the convergence between audio and video is opening up opportunities for companies which have traditionally sat firmly in the audio space to broaden their horizons, and start to compete with the likes of YouTube. Spotify, for example, has begun distributing content from UK broadcasters Channel 4 and ITV, while radio specialist Global has begun ramping up its video output.
By embracing video podcasting (and ensuring it takes a slice of video monetisation), Apple will hope to capitalise on this growing popularity itself.
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