How to send podcasts to your Apple TV

How-to
By Joseph Keller, Rene Ritchie
published

The Podcasts app on the Apple TV is a great way to experience podcasts on your home's biggest screen, but if you can't get the podcast you want on your TV, here are some alternate options for you.

How to get podcasts on your Apple TV via AirPlay

The easiest way to get obscure podcasts onto the Apple TV is to open them on your iPhone, iPod touch, or iPad and then use the built-in AirPlay feature to beam them to your Apple TV.

  1. Open your preferred app for listening to podcasts on your iPhone or iPad. This could be Apple's own iOS podcast app, or a third-party app like Overcast, Castro, or Pocket Casts.
  2. Start playing the podcast you want to beam to your Apple TV.

  1. Tap the AirPlay button.
  2. Tap on the Apple TV to which you want to AirPlay your podcast.

If your preferred podcast app doesn't have a built-in AirPlay button, you can use the universal AirPlay button in Control Center while playing the podcast from your app of choice.

  1. Open Control Center on your iPhone or iPad by swiping down from the top-right corner (iPhone X or newer, iPads running iOS 12) or swiping up from the bottom of the screen (iPhone 8 or older).
  2. Press firmly (or press and hold) on the audio playback widget to expand it.

  1. Tap on the AirPlay button.
  2. Tap on the Apple TV to which you want to send the podcast.

The biggest downside is that if anything interrupts playback on your iOS device—like an incoming FaceTime call or short video someone messages you—it'll also interrupt playback on your Apple TV.

How to get your podcasts on your Apple TV via Home Sharing

You can also get your podcasts onto the new Apple TV through good old iTunes. Through Home Sharing, you can connect to your iTunes library on a Mac or Windows PC, as long as it's on the same network, and stream anything from your library.

If you haven't set up Home Sharing yet, you'll need to do that first.

  1. Open the Computers app on your Apple TV.
  2. Enter your Apple ID credentials to allow Home Sharing.

  1. Select Podcasts from the top banner menu.
  2. Select the podcast to which you want to listen.

  1. Click on the episode to which you want to listen.

Questions?

If you have any questions about alternative methods of getting your podcasts on the Apple TV, let us know in the comments.

Update February 2019: Updated steps for iOS 12 and tvOS 12.

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Joseph Keller
Joseph Keller

Joseph Keller is the former Editor in Chief of iMore. An Apple user for almost 20 years, he spends his time learning the ins and outs of iOS and macOS, always finding ways of getting the most out of his iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, and Mac.