Long dominated by audio, podcasting is now expanding to include video content, prompting a reevaluation of the tools and infrastructure that have supported podcasts for two decades.
At the center of this evolution is the push to integrate video into open, decentralized RSS feeds—a shift aimed at maintaining podcasting's open nature while embracing richer content formats.
The Roots of RSS in Podcasting
Podcasting as we know it began in the early 2000s, when developer Dave Winer and former MTV host Adam Curry introduced a way to deliver audio content through RSS feeds—simple text files that update automatically.
The innovation allowed users to "subscribe" to audio content and receive new episodes automatically, an idea that transformed digital media consumption. RSS, which stands for Really Simple Syndication, became the backbone of podcasting because it allowed creators to publish and distribute content widely without relying on any single platform.
This open architecture enabled the rise of podcast apps like Apple Podcasts and Overcast, and it protected the independence of podcasters from large tech platforms.
Challenges of Adding Video to RSS
While RSS was built for simplicity and flexibility, it wasn’t designed with large video files in mind.
Video podcasts introduce several complications that audio-only feeds typically avoid. Video files are significantly larger, which means they use more data and take longer to download. This can lead to storage problems on mobile devices and poor playback experiences if a user’s internet connection is slow.
Also, the current RSS specification doesn’t support features like adaptive video quality, which are standard on video streaming platforms like YouTube or Netflix.
Another challenge lies in device compatibility. Many podcast apps were built around the assumption that content would be audio-only, so introducing video means rethinking playback interfaces and support across phones, computers, and smart TVs.
The result is that delivering video podcasts through RSS in a way that’s smooth, user-friendly, and reliable remains technically demanding.
HLS Streaming: Borrowing from the Video World
To address these issues, some in the podcasting community are looking to borrow a technology that has long been used in video streaming: HTTP Live Streaming, or HLS.
Developed by Apple, HLS works by breaking video into small chunks and delivering them one piece at a time. This allows the video player to automatically adjust quality depending on the viewer’s internet connection. In other words, if your Wi-Fi is strong, you’ll get high-definition video; if your connection drops, the quality lowers temporarily to prevent buffering.
By integrating HLS into podcast RSS feeds, creators can offer streaming-style video that behaves more like a YouTube video than a traditional podcast download. The Podcast Standards Project is currently pushing for this change, aiming to modernize podcast delivery while staying within the open RSS model. This could make watching video podcasts smoother, especially on mobile networks or older devices.
However, this approach isn't without hurdles. Setting up HLS streaming requires more technical know-how than simply uploading a video file. It involves creating multiple versions of the video at different quality levels and serving them through a special media server. For smaller podcasters or independent creators, this can be a barrier to entry unless podcast hosting platforms automate the process.
The Podcasting 2.0 Initiative: Reinventing RSS
Alongside the push for HLS, a broader project called Podcasting 2.0 is introducing updates to the RSS format itself.
Led by the Podcast Index initiative and supported by a coalition of developers and hosting providers, Podcasting 2.0 is essentially an upgrade of RSS designed for the modern era. It adds new tags—pieces of structured information inside the feed—that allow creators to include things like episode transcripts, funding links, and chapter markers.
For video podcasts, Podcasting 2.0 introduces an important feature: the ability to include multiple types of media files in a single episode. This means a single feed could offer both an audio and a video version of the same content, giving listeners the choice of how to consume it.
This flexibility is important for maintaining accessibility, especially in scenarios where video isn’t practical, like driving or exercising.
Unlike HLS, Podcasting 2.0 changes are relatively easy to implement for podcast hosting companies and software developers. The challenge is adoption. In order for these features to be widely useful, podcast apps and directories need to support the new tags.
While some, such as Podcast Addict and Fountain, have begun to do so, the biggest platforms like Apple Podcasts have yet to embrace the changes.
Proprietary Platforms vs. the Open Web
While the open podcasting movement seeks to expand RSS, proprietary platforms are moving aggressively into the video podcasting space.
YouTube now attracts over a billion monthly podcast views, with powerful tools for monetization, discovery, and video engagement. Spotify has also increased its video podcasting investment, offering ad-free viewing for subscribers and financial incentives for creators to publish video directly on its platform.
These developments offer podcasters new opportunities but also risks. Platforms like YouTube and Spotify centralize podcast distribution, often at the expense of creator independence. If video podcasts become synonymous with a single company, the diversity and openness that defined podcasting could be diminished.
By contrast, using HLS and Podcasting 2.0 keeps distribution decentralized, ensuring that no single company can dictate terms to creators or listeners.
Looking Ahead
The integration of video into podcasting is no longer a niche experiment—it’s becoming a defining feature of the medium. But the tools and technologies used to deliver that video are still being developed and debated.
Solutions like HLS offer smoother playback and more flexibility, but they come with technical overhead. Podcasting 2.0 provides a more accessible and forward-compatible way to modernize RSS, though it relies on broader industry support to succeed.
Together, these efforts represent a vision for podcasting that embraces the power of video without surrendering the values of openness, independence, and accessibility. Whether that vision takes hold will depend on how quickly podcast hosting platforms, app developers, and creators adapt—and whether they choose open standards over proprietary walled gardens.
