Podcast listeners seem to prefer YouTube and Spotify over Apple. Apple wants to change that.
Apple is finally introducing videos to podcasts as it takes aim at the market’s reigning leaders YouTube and Spotify.
But instead of using RSS for the videos, Apple said it is bringing in Http Live Streaming (HLS) technology, which lets consumers’ devices adapt to changing network conditions by automatically raising or lowering the quality of the stream.
Plus, users will be able to toggle between watching podcasts with videos turned on or off.
The company is also introducing dynamic advertising, which will allow podcasters to swap ads in or out. YouTube and Spotify have both said they would launch the tool, but are yet to do so.
Apple does not charge hosting providers or creators to distribute podcasts on Apple Podcasts – though it will begin charging participating ad networks an impression-based fee to deliver dynamic ads in HLS video podcasts later this year, it said.
“20 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. The new step is a “defining milestone”, he added.
The consumer tech giant was one of the first to popularise the concept of podcasts all the way back in 2005. But in recent years, its leadership in the area has dwindled.
Recent data showed that 39pc of podcast listeners said they prefer YouTube as their go-to platform, 21pc Spotify, and only 8pc chose Apple. Last year, YouTube said that it had reached 1bn monthly podcast listeners.
There’s a few reasons Apple Podcasts lost its steam. One, for most of its existence, the service didn’t generate revenue from podcasts. Apple only launched podcast subscriptions in 2021, and at that point, hadn’t even considered introducing ads.
Meanwhile, not everyone uses Apple products, with Google’s Android phones remaining the most popular mobile operating system worldwide. Meaning, for a large period of time, only Apple users would have been able to tune into podcasts on its platforms.
However, that changed in 2024 with the introduction of an Apple Podcasts web app, available regardless of whether users are on a Mac or not.
Updated, 11.43am, 20 February 2026: This article was amended to include correct figures in relation to podcast listener preferences.
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