Video on Apple Podcasts is more than one option

Apple’s publishing page says HLS video lets you deliver video that fits into your existing podcast, with the same tools and workflows you use today. A separate page describes video through a standard RSS feed, and a news page announces video for Apple Podcasts Subscriptions. They are three different routes with different requirements.

This article offers a short check to run before you plan video episodes: HLS, RSS, paid and record. It is editorial synthesis built from four Apple Podcasts for Creators pages, not an Apple feature. The publishing and RSS pages show no date in the text I read. The subscriptions video announcement and the Support index both show September 22, 2026. Apple can change all of them.

HLS: video through your hosting provider

The page says to start with a hosting provider that supports video on Apple Podcasts, notes that HLS availability is expanding on a rolling basis, and then to open Apple Podcasts Connect, select your show, go to Settings and, if video delivery is available, generate an API key. If it is not available for your show, it points you to a contact form to say you are interested.

It describes the key as the unique identifier that authenticates the connection between your Connect account and your host, letting the host publish shows and episodes on your behalf, and says the host will not have access to your listening analytics, subscription reporting, or banking or tax information. If you already have an Apple Podcasts Subscription and have shared an API key with that host, the page says you do not need to repeat the key process; check the host’s remaining setup steps. You can download a key only once, so keep a backup, and you can revoke keys that are lost or no longer needed.

The page says your title, description and other show information stay in your main RSS feed, that video episodes use multiple quality variants through your host, and that supported file types vary by provider. It also says you can use separate keys for several hosts, switch back to audio-only through your host at any time, and use dynamic advertising if your host supports it, with host-read baked-in ads still possible. The page says HLS may not be available in all countries and regions.

What HLS changes for listeners and for your numbers

The page says listeners see a single integrated show page where video and audio-only experiences are both available, can switch between them during an episode, and that shows with video episodes carry a new badge with iOS 26.4, iPadOS 26.4, visionOS 26.4 and in the web app. Tapping play on an episode plays the video.

Two details matter for planning. On analytics, the page says video and audio consumption are grouped together under your show’s overall metrics, and that your hosting provider may support this in its own analytics tools. On downloads, it says the audio for followed shows is downloaded automatically so there is always something to play offline, while listeners can choose to download video automatically too. The page does not promise a separate video/audio breakdown from your host; ask whether one is available. The earlier article on Spotify podcast analytics refresh timing made a related point about reading a dashboard carefully.

RSS: video in a feed of its own

The RSS page says HLS video is Apple’s preferred method, and that video podcasts through standard RSS feeds remain available to all creators through many hosting providers. It describes publishing video episodes to a new or dedicated feed, says you can create a new show for the video version if an audio version already exists, and says to use titles, descriptions and artwork so listeners can tell the two apart. It lists MOV, MP4 and M4V files as supported.

Submission follows the usual steps: submit the feed in Apple Podcasts Connect, meet the technical requirements and content guidelines, get validated and then publish. The new or dedicated video feed is required for this route; a separate video show is an option when an audio show already exists, rather than a requirement stated by this page. It does not say whether audience or numbers are combined across the two, or how listeners move between them.

Paid: video in Subscriptions is announced, not yet described as available

The Premium Video page says that soon in Apple Podcasts you will be able to offer video through Apple Podcasts Subscriptions, including subscriber-exclusive episodes, ad-free video, early access and bonus content, to audiences in more than 170 countries and regions. It says Apple is working with hosting providers and that participating partners will share details in the coming months.

The publishing page, meanwhile, says Apple Podcasts Subscriptions remain audio-only at this time, in answer to whether you can offer video as part of a paid subscription. Neither page gives a launch date or says which hosts will take part. For planning, treat video in Subscriptions as announced and not available until Apple’s pages and your host say otherwise. The earlier article on paid podcast feeds on Spotify covers a similar check for paid audio on another platform.

A hypothetical walkthrough

Imagine a podcaster who records interviews on camera and publishes audio today. They want to know whether to start publishing video and whether to hold it for a paid tier.

Going by the pages, they check both whether their host supports HLS video on Apple Podcasts and whether video delivery is available in their show’s Settings in Connect. Only when both checks pass do they follow the host’s setup steps and test one episode, reusing an API key already shared with that host for Subscriptions if they have one, or generating one if needed. If either check fails, they can investigate RSS video in a new or dedicated feed, with a separate video show as an option if they already have an audio show. A paid video tier is not described as available yet. For illustration only; they confirm each step with their host before changing how they publish.

Keep a short record and check before you commit

Decide what you want video to do before you choose a path. If you plan your content with a creator tool such as Launchvibes, add the path you are considering, what you could not confirm and the date you checked to the idea. A choice you can state in one sentence is easier to revisit when Apple’s pages change.

Keep a short record: your host, the path, the date you read the pages and any answer you are waiting for from your host. The earlier article on Spotify Partner Program ad breaks makes a similar case for checking what a platform describes before you plan around it.

Check Apple’s current pages and your own host before you change how you publish. This article reflects four Apple Podcasts for Creators pages at the time of writing. It does not cover your host’s own video terms, Apple’s content guidelines in full, Apple Podcasts Subscriptions fees, or the iOS 27 changes Apple lists elsewhere, and it does not replace advice about your situation.