Spotify $SPOT announced plans to adopt Apple $AAPL's HTTP Live Streaming technology for video podcasts, a move that will allow creators hosted on Spotify to distribute their video content to Apple Podcasts without altering their existing workflow.
Later this year, HLS video technology from Apple Podcasts will be supported across both the Spotify for Creators and Megaphone platforms, the company said. Spotify said it is working on the integration with Apple and will share timeline details at a later date.
According to TechCrunch, the underlying technology works by monitoring a viewer's connection speed and modifying video quality on the fly to reduce buffering and maintain smooth playback. The rollout to Apple Podcasts began at the end of March, according to 9to5Mac, when Apple brought the enhanced video experience to iPhone, iPad, Apple Vision Pro, and the web.
Revenue generation will carry over as well, with Spotify committing to monetization support for video content that reaches Apple Podcasts listeners, ensuring creators are not forced to sacrifice earnings for broader distribution. The company said more details on how that monetization will work through its creator platforms are forthcoming.
Thursday's announcement also included news that a set of established hosting providers — Libsyn, Podigee, Audioboom, Audiomeans, and Podspace — have completed integrations enabling their creator bases to publish video podcasts on Spotify and tap into earnings through the Spotify Partner Program. Those hosting partners can expect expanded ways to earn through Spotify down the line, with direct sales among the options the company plans to introduce.
Spotify noted a distinction in how video content reaches each platform. Direct uploading to Spotify is a prerequisite for video content, bypassing RSS distribution, because that approach unlocks platform-specific capabilities like engagement-based monetization and live performance data that the company builds around its streaming infrastructure. RSS feeds remain the distribution method for audio-only platforms.
Spotify has been building its video podcast business since 2020. Video podcast consumption on Spotify had reached significant scale by November 2025, with roughly 390 million users having watched video shows across close to 500,000 titles, the company reported. Earlier this year, Spotify lowered the requirements for video monetization on the platform.