What you need to know
- Spotify has announced support for Video Podcasts.
- The company is launching the feature for a small number of shows to begin.
- Video and audio versions of the podcast will stay in sync to make it easy to listen on the go.
In a blog post on its website, Spotify announced today that it will be rolling out Video Podcasts to a select number of podcasts on its platform.
The company says that Video Podcasts will be available to both Free and Premium users. At its launch, the company is supporting the feature for only a few shows, including "H3 Podcast", "The Morning Toast", and "Higher Learning with Van Lathan & Rachel Lindsay."
Video podcasts build upon and enhance our existing audio experience, allowing Free and Premium users to connect more deeply with their favorite podcasts with video content. Listeners can tune into podcasts like Book of Basketball 2.0, Fantasy Footballers, The Misfits Podcast, H3 Podcast, The Morning Toast, Higher Learning with Van Lathan & Rachel Lindsay, and The Rooster Teeth Podcast for a visual and audio feast.
Users will be able to watch Video Podcasts on both the desktop and mobile app. Spotify has not said whether or not the feature works with its app on streaming devices such as the Apple TV, Xbox, or Playstation.
One of the interesting features of Video Podcasts on Spotify is that the video and audio versions of the show will seemingly sync together, allowing users to jump in and out of the app without pausing or losing their place.
To start watching, just press play on your desktop or mobile app. The creator-made videos will start automatically and sync immediately with your audio feed. If you're multitasking between apps or want to lock your device during the episode, no worries: your audio will continue to play in the background with no interruption (and minimal data usage). All listeners will still be able to download the audio to their mobile devices to listen to shows on the go.
While Apple Podcasts has supported video for a long time, the company has never put much emphasis on it. This has led many podcasts to host the video versions of their show on streaming sites like YouTube. Spotify seems to be betting on this side of podcasting as well, so it'll be interesting to see if Apple responds in any way.
