Apple’s New Video Podcast Deep Dive | James Cridland #651

About this episode

The episode discusses Apple's new video podcast experience and its implications for the podcasting landscape.

On Weds, February 18th Live Episode #651 of the New Media Show, Rob Greenlee, Host, 2017 Podcast Hall of Famer and CEO of Trust Factor Lab at https://RobGreenlee.com , and James Cridland, Editor, https://Podnews.net and 2026 Podcast Hall of Famer discuss Apple’s announcement of a new and improved video podcast experience in the Apple Podcasts app and what it changes technically and strategically heading into 2026. They explain how video was previously active in Apple Podcasts but was hidden and poorly presented in the iOS apps, and how this new updated experience makes video playback front and center, with a “turn video off” option that keeps the audio track playing. The episode breaks down Apple’s preferred move to HLS-based on-demand video delivery (via a separate, proprietary API HLS video streaming pass-through submission from approved hosting partners) while still supporting legacy MP4 video via RSS. They cover HLS basics (chunked delivery, adaptive quality, reduced bandwidth, and hosting costs), improved seeking/scrubbing versus progressive MP4 playback, and new measurement implications (better insight into drop-off and ad viewing). A major focus is monetization: Apple…

People in this episode

Host: Rob Greenlee

Guest: James Cridland

Topics covered

• Apple Podcasts
• video podcasting
• HLS video delivery
• monetization
• dynamic ad insertion
• podcast technology

Keywords

• video podcast
• HLS
• dynamic ad insertion
• Apple Podcasts
• podcast monetization
• audio track
• adaptive quality
• podcast technology

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Apple, Trust Factor Lab, Podnews, Acast, Art19, Omny Studio, Simplecast

More episodes of New Media Show (Video)

• Are Podcast Networks becoming Creator Networks? | Greg Wasserman #666 · June 8, 2026
• What Is New Media Now vs Podcasting? | Ashley Christenson / @Ashni #665 · May 31, 2026
• How Creators Are Using AI Agents to Work Smarter | Mike Russell #664 · May 24, 2026
• When AI Content Stops Looking and Sounding Artificial | Jeanine Wright + Robert Scoble #663 · May 21, 2026
• Can Human Critics Improve Podcast Discovery? | Imran Ahmed, Great Pods #662 · May 7, 2026
• Can Indie Podcasters and Media Creators Still Win? | Dave Jackson #661 · May 2, 2026