Video in the iHeartRadio app will use the power of open RSS
Exclusive: Podnews can report that the iHeartRadio app will be the first mainstream podcast app to support video via open RSS including using the alternateEnclosure feature of Podcasting 2.0.
This means that, for the first time, podcast creators can include the audio and video version of their show in the same RSS feed, making it easier to find, and easier for consumers to switch between audio and video versions of the same show.
Crucially, alternateEnclosure allows publishers to produce different edits of the same content, to make the best of the medium. Spotify or YouTube’s solution forces podcast listeners to listen to the video soundtrack, rather than a bespoke edited audio version.
Unlike YouTube or Spotify, there’s no logging into specific creator portals and extra steps in your podcast process. It just uses the power of open RSS.
We asked iHeartRadio for more information.
Q&A with iHeartRadio
Will the iHeartRadio app support video in RSS, in the same way Apple Podcasts does?
We will support video in RSS the same way audio is supported in RSS, at no cost to creators. The two other major playback platforms for video are taking between 40 and 50 percent of the podcasters video revenue. We won’t be doing that. We will treat it like audio podcasting and will carry video podcasts for free. RSS feeds can be submitted to iHeart at podcaster.com.
Will we have to upload video in some form of iHeart portal?
No.
Video episodes will come through the RSS feed just like audio episodes. No additional effort is required from the podcast publisher.
What video formats will you be supporting? MP4, MOV and M4V like Apple?
MP4 is the most common video format found in RSS feeds that support video today, so iHeart will support MP4 for initial launch. As other formats become popular, iHeart will consider additional support.
(Podnews research in December 2025 showed that 94% of all video podcasts are using MP4).
Will you be rehosting the video or will the video be passthrough like the audio is?
Videos will not be rehosted. Videos will be passthrough like audio so the podcasters keep all their revenue.
Will you be supporting the alternateEnclosure feature?
Yes, iHeart will follow the best practices and standards laid out by the Podcast Index as seen here.
Will consumers be able to choose between video and audio?
Yes, iHeart users will be able to easily choose between watching and listening, with audio being the primary option.
Anything else podcasters need to know to get video into the iHeart app?
iHeart is excited to help podcasters grow their audience while keeping their hard-earned revenue in their pockets - we will not be taking any revenue share from these video podcasts distributed on the iHeart app.
If the podcast isn’t already available through iHeart, podcasters can submit it anytime at podcaster.com.
When video support becomes available, the video episodes with alternateEnclosure type=video will be accessible across iHeart’s mobile apps and websites in supported countries.
Support from podcast hosts
Triton Digital’s Omny Studio’s recently announced video support is rolling out, but will, we understand, support alternateEnclosures. Triton Digital is part of iHeart, so this gives a fully supported platform for podcasters - with monetisation built-in.
Omny Studio was also announced this week as a launch partner for Spotify’s video publishing and monetisation. It’s also been able to publish to YouTube, with an integration with Headliner since August 2024.
For video-first podcasters, Omny Studio appears, currently, to be the most feature-rich solution.
Other podcast hosts that already support alternateEnclosure include iono
Support from other podcast platforms
The iHeartRadio app will be the first major podcast app supporting video via open RSS. Podnews research from December 2025 suggests that it will join TrueFans, Fountain and Podcast Guru, which supports alternateEnclosure and video playback. More will surely follow.
Backwards support
For listeners/viewers on iHeartRadio, you just need one feed - your audio feed, with a video “alternateEnclosure”. If your show is not already on iHeartRadio, just submit this feed to podcaster.com.
You can also publish a separate legacy video-only feed - like many openRSS video podcasts currently do. This will continue to be used by Apple Podcasts and others.
iHeart will, we think, accept legacy video-only RSS feeds, too. But this will halve your algorithmic power within the app, since you’ve now got two shows, and two feeds. It’ll be harder to link to, and your audience won’t be able to switch between video and audio as easily. That’s the benefit of the new alternateEnclosure feature: one feed, multiple formats.
(We understand that Omny Studio will publish both types of feeds, incidentally.)
What does an alternateEnclosure look like?
Below - an audio podcast with an alternateEnclosure for a video version of the same episode.
It’s entirely backwards-compatible with all existing podcast players; those that don’t support it just won’t show it. (Podnews Daily uses a number of alternateEnclosures, including video.)
<enclosure url="https://example.com/audio-episode-1.mp3" length="432000" type="audio/mpeg" />
<podcast:alternateEnclosure type="video/mp4" length="1056995" bitrate="650000" height="1080">
<podcast:source uri="https://example.com/video-episode-1.mp3" />
</podcast:alternateEnclosure>Open solutions win
iHeart gets a wide range of great video podcasts using open RSS - either the existing extra video feeds, or the enhanced alternateEnclosure feeds. iHeart gets these without adding additional workload on podcast producers.
Podcast producers have to do nothing other than produce great content. Publish once, distribute to many places, using the power of open RSS. And publishers keep all the revenue they already earn from their podcast video (including dynamic video advertising). And all the analytics, too.
Listeners get access to their favourite content, however they want to listen.
Dave Winer, one of the inventors of podcasting, calls this “interop”.
We call this a great future for open video podcasting.
