What Did Apple Announce About the Fee?
Apple announced HLS video for Apple Podcasts on February 16, 2026. HLS, HTTP Live Streaming, lets the app stream video at a quality suited to the connection, and our guide What Is HLS Video for Podcasts? explains how it works. The announcement said that “for the first time, creators can dynamically insert video ads — including host-read spots,” and set out who pays for what (Apple Newsroom):
- “Apple does not charge hosting providers or creators to distribute podcasts on Apple Podcasts, whether via traditional RSS/MP3 or HLS video.”
- “Apple will charge participating ad networks an impression-based fee for the delivery of dynamic ads in HLS video on Apple Podcasts starting later this year.”
Apple named Acast; ART19, an Amazon company; Triton’s Omny Studio; and SiriusXM, “inclusive of SiriusXM Media, AdsWizz, and Simplecast,” as supporting HLS video at launch. PPC Land’s report on the announcement noted that it “did not specify fee structures or rates” (PPC Land).
| Question | Answer | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays Apple? | Participating ad networks, per impression, for dynamic ads in HLS video | Apple Newsroom |
| Do creators or hosts pay to distribute? | No, for RSS/MP3 or HLS video | Apple Newsroom |
| When did Apple say it starts? | “Later this year” (February 16, 2026) | Apple Newsroom |
| When does Podnews say it starts? | Early 2027, by its understanding | Podnews |
| What rate? | Not published in anything we read | PPC Land; Apple pages |
| Does it apply to audio-only plays? | Yes, per Podnews; Apple has not said | Podnews |
What Does Podnews Report Now?
Podnews’ October 19 edition reported that Jake Shapiro of Apple Podcasts was the guest on the PodBiz podcast that week, “talking about HLS ads within Apple Podcasts,” and that his appearance “coincides” with that show becoming available in HLS video in Apple Podcasts for the first time, via Acast. It continued: “Shapiro notes that ‘HLS ads are both audio and video’. Apple Podcasts will soon start charging advertising networks an impression-based fee for dynamic HLS ads – a charge which Podnews understands has slipped until early 2027. When it does, the company will be charging whether the user is watching or only listening” (Podnews).
Two points are worth separating. The quotation from Shapiro is his. The timing is Podnews’ understanding, and the passage does not attribute it to him. A French trade site, PodcastNews.fr, repeated the report the same day, crediting Podnews (PodcastNews.fr); that is a restatement, not a second source. We did not hear the PodBiz episode.
Apple’s own pages have not caught up either way. Its February announcement still says “later this year,” and its creator page on video, read October 19, says creators can “dynamically insert video ads, including host-read, through your hosting partner” and that Apple is “expanding HLS availability and eligibility over time,” without mentioning a fee or a date (Apple Podcasts for Creators). The accurate statement today is that the start has reportedly moved, not that Apple has changed its plan.
How Many Podcast Hosts Offer Dynamic Video Ads?
Few, by Apple’s own table. Apple’s hosting-provider page compares providers across seven features, including video and dynamic audio and video ads. On October 19, 2026 it listed 40 providers (Apple Podcasts for Creators).
Number of the 40 providers listed, as read on October 19, 2026
Source: Apple Podcasts for Creators, Podcast hosting providers, feature table. Read October 19, 2026; counts are ours.
Apple’s summary table; it can lag a provider’s own offer. The five marked for dynamic video ads were Acast, Audiomeans, Flightcast, Omny Studio and RSS.com.
Only five providers were marked as offering dynamic video ads: Acast, Audiomeans, Flightcast, Omny Studio and RSS.com. That is the inventory the fee is designed to apply to, which suggests its first effect will be concentrated on a small number of networks. Two of Apple’s named launch partners, ART19 and SiriusXM’s Simplecast, were marked as offering video but not dynamic video ads in the table we read. The table is Apple’s summary and can lag what a host sells, so check a host’s own pages before relying on it.
Are Dynamic Video Ads Already Running on Apple Podcasts?
Yes. PPC Land reported that Acast launched the first integrated video ad campaigns on Apple Podcasts on May 13, 2026, with State Farm and T-Mobile as the first brands, and that, according to Acast, 117 shows had enabled its Apple HLS video integration with more than 1,000 video episodes published. The top five markets by audience were the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia (PPC Land). Those figures are Acast’s, as relayed by PPC Land.
So, if Podnews is right, ads have been running for months without the fee, and networks get several more months before it begins. The fee does not decide whether video ads exist on the platform. It decides how much of their revenue goes to Apple once it starts.
What Does “Watching or Only Listening” Mean for an Impression?
An HLS ad, as Shapiro described it, is “both audio and video”: one ad unit with both tracks. Apple’s pages say the fee is charged on “delivery,” and Podnews reports it will apply whether the user is watching or only listening. Read together, an impression would be counted when the ad is delivered, whether the screen is in a pocket or in front of someone.
That is how podcast audio ads have long been counted. Our guide to dynamic ad insertion explains that a delivered ad is not proof that anyone heard it. The difference with video is pricing. If a network pays Apple per delivered impression and sells the spot as video, a sponsor could pay a video price for listeners who never looked. Nothing we read says that is happening, because the fee has not started and no rate is public. We note it as a question to put to a seller, not as a finding.
Why Charge Ad Networks Rather Than Shows?
Apple has not explained the choice in what we read, beyond saying that creators and hosts pay nothing to distribute. PPC Land set it against Apple’s other businesses: it reported that the App Store charges developers 15% to 30% commissions on digital purchases, and that Apple Podcasts Subscriptions takes 30% in a subscriber’s first year and 15% after that (PPC Land). Charging per ad impression, by contrast, ties Apple’s revenue to inserted ads, not to a show’s sales or its audience size.
The design also leaves a free route open. Apple’s creator page says “video podcasts using standard RSS feeds remain available to all creators through many hosting providers” (Apple Podcasts for Creators), and Apple describes the fee only for dynamic ads in HLS video. It says nothing in the pages we read about charging for sponsorships recorded into an episode, which are not inserted at delivery, or for video sent by RSS. Whether such ads will always stay outside the fee is not something Apple has addressed.
For a sponsor, that distinction matters more than the date. The same read can reach listeners as an inserted HLS spot that a network pays Apple to deliver, or as a segment recorded into the episode, for which Apple describes no fee. Our guide on host-read ads covers what the research says about the formats. A sponsor buying across many shows should expect the answer to differ by network and by show, so it is worth asking for each.
What Does a Delay Change for Sponsors and Shows?
Less than the headline suggests. The fee falls on ad networks, not on shows, hosts or sponsors, according to Apple, so a show’s distribution costs do not change and nobody has been sent a bill. What can change is the rate a network quotes a sponsor once the fee is in place, and whether networks pass it on is unknown.
The context is a market moving to video on several fronts. Our report on MIDiA’s 2025 market-share data shows YouTube leading podcast platforms, and our guide to Audioboom’s Q3 trading update shows where podcast ad demand stood in October. Neither the fee nor its timing changes how a guest appearance is booked.
What This Means for Anyone Buying a Podcast Sponsorship
A podcast ad is advertising and should be disclosed as such. For anyone buying a sponsor slot on a show that streams video in Apple Podcasts, our recommendations, not Apple rules, are:
- Ask what the price covers. Is the quote for audio, video or a combined spot, and does it change if a listener only listens?
- Ask how an impression is counted. A delivered HLS ad and a viewed one are different things, and the seller should say which it reports.
- Ask about the Apple fee. Will the network pass any part of it into rates when it starts, and from what date?
- Ask for a named measurement source. Do not accept viewer-count claims that the seller cannot tie to one. Our guide on why download numbers mislead applies to video too.
Methodology and Limitations
Four limits apply. First, the reported delay rests on Podnews alone; PodcastNews.fr restates it, and we found no Apple confirmation or denial. Second, we did not hear the PodBiz interview, so we rely on Podnews’ account of it. Third, no fee rate is published, so we say nothing about cost. Fourth, the provider counts come from Apple’s summary table on one day and the Acast figures from PPC Land’s report of Acast’s release; neither is an audit.
Conclusion
Apple said ad networks would pay a per-impression fee on dynamic HLS video ads from later in 2026. Podnews now says the start has moved to early 2027 and that the fee will count listening and watching alike. Apple has confirmed neither the date change nor a rate in anything we read, and only a handful of hosts sell the ads it would apply to. For sponsors, the practical step is the same either way: ask what is counted, what is charged and who pays, before signing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Apple charge podcasters to distribute video podcasts?
No. Apple's February 16, 2026 announcement says it does not charge hosting providers or creators to distribute podcasts on Apple Podcasts, whether via traditional RSS/MP3 or HLS video.
Who pays the Apple Podcasts HLS ad fee?
Participating ad networks. Apple says they will pay an impression-based fee for the delivery of dynamic ads in HLS video on Apple Podcasts.
When does the HLS ad fee start?
Apple said in February 2026 that it would start later that year. Podnews reported on October 19, 2026 that it understands the charge has slipped to early 2027. We found no Apple statement confirming the new date.
How much is the fee?
No rate has been published in anything we read. PPC Land reported that Apple's announcement did not specify fee structures or rates.
Is an impression counted if a listener only listens?
Podnews reports that when the fee starts, Apple will charge whether the user is watching or only listening. Apple has not said this on the pages we read.
How many podcast hosts offer dynamic video ads on Apple Podcasts?
Apple's hosting-provider table, read October 19, 2026, marked 5 of 40 listed providers as offering dynamic video ads: Acast, Audiomeans, Flightcast, Omny Studio and RSS.com.
Sources
This guide is built from Apple’s February 16, 2026 announcement and two Apple Podcasts for Creators pages, all read on October 19, 2026; Podnews’ October 19 edition; PodcastNews.fr’s restatement; and two PPC Land reports. The provider counts are ours, from Apple’s table. The recommendations are ours, not Apple rules. We did not hear the PodBiz interview and found no Apple statement on the timing.
- official Apple Newsroom, Apple introduces a new video podcast experience on Apple Podcasts, February 16, 2026. Supports the fee wording, who pays, launch partners and “later this year.” Read October 19, 2026.
- platform documentation Apple Podcasts for Creators, Video on Apple Podcasts. Supports the dynamic video ad description and the expanding eligibility; no fee mentioned. Read October 19, 2026.
- platform documentation Apple Podcasts for Creators, Podcast hosting providers. Supports the 40-provider feature counts. Read October 19, 2026.
- trade press Podnews, news edition of October 19, 2026. Supports the reported slip to early 2027, the Shapiro quotation and the watching-or-listening point. Read October 19, 2026.
- trade press PPC Land, Apple’s HLS video podcast gambit could reshape the advertising landscape, February 2026; and Acast runs first video ads on Apple Podcasts with State Farm and T-Mobile, May 14, 2026. Supports “did not specify fee structures or rates” and the Acast campaign figures. Read October 19, 2026.
- trade press PodcastNews.fr, Apple Podcasts prépare sa facturation publicitaire HLS pour 2027, October 19, 2026. Restates Podnews; not independent. Read October 19, 2026.