Apple Is Giving Listeners More Ways To Discover Your Show

WWDC26 dropped a set of Apple Podcasts changes that could seriously improve how people discover and consume podcasts! We're talking about the few updates podcasters should know about.

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Transcript

WWDC News Podcasters Should Watch

Alban 0:00

All right, did either of you watch WWDC yesterday?

Jordan 0:03

No. Is that still going on?

Alban 0:05

They do, it's multiple days of like meetings and conference stuff, but they do this opening keynote, and that's what a lot of people will watch. I didn't watch it yesterday, but I went back and read a bunch of stuff about it and then found this press release about some new things that are coming out, and two of which I think are pretty pertinent for podcasters. Okay. The first is we know HLS video works on iPhone, and but now they're going to be bringing that to uh Apple Podcasts on TV, and we're going to get it on the podcast.com website in Vision Pro, on iPad, on Mac. And they don't say this. At least I haven't seen anything that says it. But one of the images is like the big TV watching video, but then there's like a small laptop nearby. And when I look at the screen of the laptop, I can see video of somebody doing a video podcast. And simultaneously on the right, they are the transcript. And it looks like we're getting that transcript, you know, minute by minute, what you know, what they're saying in you mean like word by word? Or minute? Word by word, yeah. Minute by minute.

Jordan 1:20

Like a terrible because we have that with the audio version already. So it'd be so nice to also have that with the with the video.

Alban 1:29

Exactly. And I haven't seen anything that promises this feature, but I am seeing it in one of the images they've released. They also have a search that's gonna allow you to search across an entire podcast, not all across all the shows. So think of like you're trying to find the this American Life episode that you remember. Well, there's over a thousand episodes, there's thousands of Joe Rogan's. So you can easily go into a show, search within that show. That's nice. And then last but not least, was in the AirPods section, they're now gonna have custom EQs for AirPods. So if you want to do, I've always loved Overcast because it had a few, you know, kind of things to make the audio sound a bit better, at least sound better to me. And now you can customize your AirPods just a little bit so that everything sounds a little bit better to you.

Jordan 2:20

That's so cool. I wonder how they're doing that. Like if it's like a I I kind of hate those like tap and drag things where it's like you tap once for this and then you tap twice for this.

Alban 2:29

I don't think the air, I think it would be interface on your phone, not like tapping your ear and then sliding out, slide down bass, slide up, trouble.

Kevin 2:39

Yeah, I imagine that I'm sure that it was on the plan all along to bring video podcasts to Apple TV and all of the surfaces of which Apple Podcasts already exist. Right. But it's nice to see. I didn't know that it would happen this fast, but that's encouraging.

Alban 2:54

I I this sounds this is just gonna sound like naive, probably, but I had not really thought through how big of a deal Apple TV will be for video podcasts. Um if either of you remember, 2014 is when serial comes out, and it comes out in like November, December, sometime near the end of the year. Well, that was the year that Apple put a podcast app on the iPhone as a default. And so I I've always thought it pretty much there's no way serial becomes the hit it became without Apple putting that on everyone's phone so that when they heard about this brand new podcast, they didn't have to go download a new app and do a bunch of work, it was already there, and they immediately get to click in, click serial, which is like the main image, and they got to listen right away. Okay, if if that like if you buy that, which I do, um, now let's imagine all these new surfaces where it's much more likely people are going to actually watch the podcast uh over on Apple TV, on iPad, maybe on the laptop, but I think iPad and TV are where people are watching video much more often. And now we're going to get video podcasts in those locations. I think this is probably the right time to get your podcast ready for video. I think there we know there's a lot of benefits right now where people are getting featured, but I think the setup will be when this all comes out, the opportunity for people to watch your podcast on Apple Podcasts is gonna go way up when we get these new apps.

Jordan 4:32

Yeah. I mean, that's the thing with video podcasts, is you have to set aside time for it. It's no longer like they can go with you to the gym or when you are in um like your commute. They can go with you. But the thing is, is like a lot of times you don't want to consume video podcasts, especially if they're video first. If they're not taking into consideration they're audio listeners, then it is a little bit of an inconvenience. And then you have to carve out time. So there's certain podcasts that I have to listen to while I'm making dinner because I set up my phone and I will watch those ones while I'm making dinner and they are now my, they're now my dinner time podcasts. And so it's kind of nice that Apple is integrating that into like Apple TV and stuff like that, because now you have this cross-platform compatibility where I'm assuming it's going to sync up to your account. And so, you know, if you're watching a video podcast and then you have to like go run an errand real quick, you can be like, I'll plug in and headphones and finish this.

Kevin 5:30

I'll be interested to see if it changes my habits. Like, I do not spend a lot of time in front of a TV right now. And I wonder if I will. Like, I wonder if I'm gonna find this as a like a draw, like something I'm attracted to, to like sit down on the couch, turn on the TV, and watch a few podcasts if that I'll have if I'll make room in my life for that. It's possible for sure. There are a few podcasts I listen to that are video first. I don't really consume them in the video mode. Um, but I also kind of like avoid the house. Like if I'm in the mood to listen to a podcast, I'd rather be walking outside or I'd rather just be like going and working in the garage or working in the yard or something like that.

Jordan 6:05

Yeah.

Kevin 6:05

But it could change my pattern. So I'll be interested. I'll report back for anybody else who's interested.

Alban 6:10

Yeah, I don't think this is the new way for me to consume podcasts. I think the we've seen YouTube become pretty really influential in podcasting, and they become influential because so many people do want to watch them. I am not those people, but there are lots of people who want to watch podcasts and they never listened to them. Well, now Apple Podcast says, okay, now we've got this app set up so you can watch here and then you can go out for your run and it's synced up so you then you can listen and then you can come back to your laptop and you can read. We're gonna have one unified experience across all three of these. You have a direct connection to the creator. I think it's getting more and more compelling. I'm excited that they did it. This was the one of the things that came out of WWEC that I was pumped to read about. I don't know if the revamp Siri is landing exactly right for me, but everything else uh everything around this sounds awesome.

Kevin 7:05

I do, I mean, I think this is this is pretty exciting. I you you you guys know that I'm always hesitant when we talk more and more about video podcasting. I but I really do like the way that Apple is doing it. Apple is doing a really good job of saying, if you want to do video podcasting, you can do that. We're gonna make it a great experience. The audio and the video are gonna match so that people can go from one watching or listening location to the other, like vice versa, back and forth, and it's gonna be seamless. And I think it's possible. Like I said, I don't know that my habits are gonna change, but I think it's possible that I could foresee future Kevin like sitting down on a couch and cueing up a podcast that I know is video. There are there, like I said, there are times when I've been experiencing or listening to a podcast before where I've wanted to jump into the the video mode of that show. And right now there's something that feels off to me about like sitting on my couch at home in front of a TV and not looking at something. Whether it be my screen and my in my hand or the screen on the wall, it just feels like I I for whatever reason, I just don't want to sit there and just listen to something. I think because I have more attention to give, and so it feels a little boring just to sit there and listen to an audiobook. Like I'm not tired, I'm not falling asleep. Now it's different if I get in bed at the end of the night and I'm just like winding down or something like that, and I just want to, but I'm not like sleepy yet, I might just listen to a podcast, and that helps me, you know, start to drift off a little bit. And that's why shows like Dreamful and stuff are so successful. Podcasts do work like that, but like in the middle of the day on a Saturday, if I've got a few minutes to sit on the couch, I need more. I need like I want to see something while I'm doing something. And so I I could see this actually working well.

Alban 8:50

You know who I think this will be good for? Um, I just went and listened to a three-hour episode of Acquired around about uh Coca-Cola and really interesting episode. Um, I've drank more Coke after listening to it. It's still as unhealthy as it was before, but there's something like I'm hearing all these stories, and I'm like, what a crazy company. This is so interesting. And then I'm like, you know what? I should reach for a Coke. So maybe don't listen to it if you uh if you don't want to do that. But I'm listening to this episode and there are lots of visuals that would work. And I think they do, they might do a video version that they put on YouTube. But while I'm still gonna listen to it when I'm out for runs or I'm commuting, those are the two main times I've listened to this three-hour episode. My daughter listened to a little bit in the car with me, and so did my wife, and both of them were like, oh, this is interesting. They would put it on the TV if there were visuals and they're talking about the redesign of the Coke bottles and how they standardized the formats. That's interesting to show. If they've got they're talking about all these historical characters and all the stuff they did, you can put that on the TV. And they are more likely to watch and consume content on the couch, where I that's not just kind of like Kevin, that doesn't really is not as been as compelling for me for some reason. And so I think in the same way that video on YouTube ended up being another audience on top of the audio podcasting audience. I wonder if we might be able to get an additional audience of people who they'll click into the Apple Podcast app on their TV, they'll watch an episode and kind of treat it like it's a documentary. Uh I think there might be an opportunity for some of these shows, they're doing these long formats to be successful and with people coming back and watching it over entire, you know, multiple days over a week.

Jordan 10:50

You know, podcasting is not a very social media form. It's it's one of those things where like you listen to it and you recommend it to somebody, but they're gonna listen to it on their own time. And I feel like with the introduction of video into podcasting, it feels a little bit more like something you could socially consume. So, for example, my husband, he listens to a lot of comedy podcasts and he's always like, Oh my gosh, at work today, I was listening to this episode and it was so funny. Let's listen to it right now. And then I have to sit there on the couch with him and he's playing me this audio, and I'm just sitting there, like staring. And I would give anything for him to like pull up a video of like Conan O'Brien needs a friend or you know, something instead of me just like staring at the wall, like listening to this clip I don't want to listen to in the first place.

Alban 11:42

Oh, yeah, nothing more difficult than somebody's told you this is hilarious, let's listen to it. And now you're listening and they're watching you going like funny, right? Right, good. Oh, wait, wait, hold on. Let me explain that. When he talks about JoJo, JoJo is the old co-host and he left the show and Jojo didn't come back. And this is why you're like, dude, he can't explain the inside joke to me.

Fan Mail

Jordan 12:07

All right, so before we wrap up this episode, we have a family message that I wanted to read to you, Kevin.

Kevin 12:12

Oh, to me.

Jordan 12:13

Yes. Okay. Uh it's from Tom Raftery from Climate Confident and Resilient Supply Chain Podcast. And he said that he's loving the new video podcasts, but he has a quick suggestion. Uh-oh. He says, I think Kevin's lighting could stand a little bit of improvement. He has a harsh light coming in from overhead and to the side, which is creating some shadows.

Alban 12:35

This is what we we did this to ourselves.

Kevin 12:39

I saw this, fan mail. I'm glad you're bringing it up. I saw it come in and I was already feeling, you know, insecure about how I look on film, and now I have to deal with shadows on my face. I'm just kidding. No, I saw it come in. It was it, you're probably not wrong. I'm in the studio today. So if you're watching on video today, the lighting should be a lot better. I think it looks actually really good. Alvin's done a good job of setting up good lighting in the studio, so I look great today. But when I'm at home, I'm not doing the whole lighting thing. I've gotten to the place in my life where I'm okay with that, that I might have some shadows. I might have my my forehead is very shiny at home. Um, so oftentimes I'll wear hat, but uh, but I'm okay with that. I hope our audience can get to the place where they're okay with that too, and just accept me for who I am, like with all my shadowy, shiny flaws. Um, because really what matters is what's on the inside and and not necessarily how everyone looks on the outside.

Alban 13:32

Oh good. In Tom's defense, I gotta read some more of this. He he then gives some ideas. He's like, Oh, here's what worked for me. It might work for you. Then he wrote, just a suggestion. Feel free to ignore it, obviously. But I thought I would, it might help. Okay, great work. Keep up the fantastic podcast. Thank you so much for all you do, and keep podcasting. That's so nice. Yeah, it was a uh, but it is, I gotta say, like, this is the risk that we are running when we do video, is there's a whole new world of things to learn. I've trying to set up, you know, lighting myself. I know Jordan is too. Kevin's in the studio. We're trying to figure it out, but the the respect I've gained for people who do lighting for film and for movies and stuff is just gone up exponentially. It's so much more difficult than I thought. And I'm so much more conscious now of ooh, that's harsh lighting. How could I learn to improve that?

Kevin 14:31

And honestly, I think it's okay to have boundaries. It's okay to just be like, this is the effort I'm willing to put in. I'm not transforming my home recording studio setup into an elaborate, beautiful, like YouTube-like set. That's okay. It's also okay to say, like, I might not have the budget to be able to do that. And so I just have to live within the constraints that I have in my life. And that's fine too. There's a podcast that was in our video beta program, The Cycling Men of Leisure. They have a great show. They have a big audience. People who listen are very passionate about their content and they they love cycling, like for the fun of it, for the leisure. And the guys there are recording in home studios, and like some of them have a great looking studio, and some of them just look like are sitting in front of a couch. And it's like, and it's totally fine. Like, um, if you are excited about making your home studio setup great and getting good lighting and that's fun for you, and you have some more income to put into your hobby, awesome. Like, no one's gonna say that's a bad idea. If you're having fun, keep doing it. But if you don't, I don't I don't want anybody again, don't be discouraged and just be fine. So you'll probably see me in the next full length buzzcast that we do. You'll probably see me again with a shiny head and you know, backlighting where I don't look that great. And that's fine. I love the tips, like keep them coming in, but I also have constraints. Like I just don't have room in my home on in my home office to be able to set up big lighting stuff. So it is what it is.

Jordan 15:53

Anyway, it is what it is.

Kevin 15:56

Tom, thanks for the tips and thanks for the kindness that you expressed while sharing that tip. And I hope you'll watch regardless of how shadowy or shiny I am.

unknown 16:05

I think you will.

Jordan 16:07

All right. So we're in our next episode, we're going to cover where to find a co-host. So if you have some advice for someone who is looking for a co-host and doesn't really know where to start, like, send us a fan mail. Let us know how you met your co host, how you found them. Like, what did you go through? Have you had any bad experiences with co hosts? Like, let's hear that too. So go ahead and tap the send us fan mail link in the show notes. And until next time, thanks for listening and keep podcasting.