Podcast listeners appear to desire YouTube and Spotify over Apple. Apple needs to vary that.
Apple is lastly introducing movies to podcasts because it takes purpose on the market’s reigning leaders YouTube and Spotify.
However as a substitute of utilizing RSS for the movies, Apple mentioned it’s bringing in Http Dwell Streaming (HLS) know-how, which lets customers’ units adapt to altering community circumstances by routinely elevating or decreasing the standard of the stream.
Plus, customers will be capable of toggle between watching podcasts with movies turned on or off.
The corporate can also be introducing dynamic promoting, which can enable podcasters to swap adverts in or out. YouTube and Spotify have each mentioned they might launch the instrument, however are but to take action.
Apple doesn’t cost internet hosting suppliers or creators to distribute podcasts on Apple Podcasts – although it can start charging taking part advert networks an impression-based charge to ship dynamic adverts in HLS video podcasts later this yr, it mentioned.
“20 years in the past, Apple helped take podcasting mainstream by including podcasts to iTunes, and greater than a decade in the past, we launched the devoted Apple Podcasts app,” mentioned Eddy Cue, Apple’s senior vice-president of companies. The brand new step is a “defining milestone”, he added.
The patron tech big was one of many first to popularise the idea of podcasts all the way in which again in 2005. However lately, its management within the space has dwindled.
Latest knowledge confirmed that 39pc of podcast listeners mentioned they like YouTube as their go-to platform, 21pc Spotify, and solely 8pc selected Apple. Final yr, YouTube mentioned that it had reached 1bn month-to-month podcast listeners.
There’s a number of causes Apple Podcasts misplaced its steam. One, for many of its existence, the service didn’t generate income from podcasts. Apple solely launched podcast subscriptions in 2021, and at that time, hadn’t even thought of introducing adverts.
In the meantime, not everybody makes use of Apple merchandise, with Google’s Android telephones remaining the most well-liked cell working system worldwide. That means, for a big time period, solely Apple customers would have been capable of tune into podcasts on its platforms.
Nonetheless, that modified in 2024 with the introduction of an Apple Podcasts internet app, accessible no matter whether or not customers are on a Mac or not.
Up to date, 11.43am, 20 February 2026: This text was amended to incorporate right figures in relation to podcast listener preferences.
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