How Many of Apple’s Top 100 US Podcasts Can Now Send Video to Apple Podcasts Through Their Host?

What Did Megaphone Switch On?

Delivery of a show’s video to Apple Podcasts in HLS, the streaming format Apple adopted for podcast video this year. Megaphone’s help page says it packages video “using the HLS streaming standard” and that, once set up, “All new video episodes of your show will be automatically distributed to Apple Podcasts” (Megaphone Help). Older video episodes “can take up to 24 hours depending on how many episodes exist in your catalog.” How HLS works for podcasts is covered in our HLS explainer.

Setup has three locks. An organization admin must turn video on, accept Apple’s HLS terms and pick eligible shows; the user needs “Producer access or higher”; and each show needs its own Apple Podcasts API key, with an Issuer ID, Key ID and show ID (Megaphone Help). If a show has no video access on Apple’s side, Megaphone says to contact Apple.

By our day count, launch came 182 days after Podnews reported on May 15, 2026 that Megaphone and Spotify for Creators would support Apple video (Podnews).

How Many Top Shows Are on a Video-Ready Host?

Eighty of 100, by our count, up from at most 21 on hosts that offered it in October. On November 14, 2026 we read Apple’s US Top Podcasts chart from Apple’s public marketing feed, looked up each show’s RSS address with Apple’s lookup service, opened each feed and recorded the host (Apple chart feed). We then matched each host against Apple’s partner directory (Apple).

The four hosts that moved from “coming soon” to “Offered” carry 59 of the 100 shows. The other 21 video-ready shows sit on hosts that were already offering it in October or that we did not record then, which is why 21 is a ceiling for October, not a measured figure.

The chart shows how concentrated the top of Apple’s chart is: two hosts, Megaphone and Simplecast, carry 54 of the 100 shows.

Which Top Shows Are on Megaphone?

Five of the top 25, including two in the top 10. On the November 14 chart they were The Joe Rogan Experience at No. 2, The Bill Simmons Podcast at No. 10, The Toast at No. 12, 20/20 at No. 24 and Pivot at No. 25. Others in the 100 include The Rest Is History, The Tucker Carlson Show, This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von, Huberman Lab and The Weekly Show with Jon Stewart. Being on Megaphone means a show can now opt in. It does not mean it has: video delivered through Apple’s API does not appear in the public RSS feed, so we could not tell which shows have switched it on. Only one of the 100 feeds we read carried a video file in its RSS.

How Will Video Plays Be Counted?

As downloads, at Megaphone. Its help page says: “When episodes are streamed or downloaded in Apple Podcasts via HLS, they are counted in Megaphone as downloads,” and “Impressions are only counted when an ad/sponsorship is streamed or downloaded” (Megaphone Help). For a sponsor, that means video and audio plays on Apple may sit in one download total. Ask for the split. Our guide on testing a video edition sets out how to compare the two.

Apple’s directory lists dynamic video ads, meaning ads inserted into video at playback, as offered by five hosts: Acast, Audiomeans, Flightcast, Omny Studio and RSS.com (Apple). Megaphone is listed as “Not offered.” Sponsors on Megaphone-hosted shows should expect ads in Apple video to be baked in. Apple’s plans for an HLS ad fee are covered in our report on what it means for sponsors.

What This Means for Anyone Booking a Guest Spot or a Sponsorship

Ask whether the episode will run as video on Apple, not only on YouTube. For most top shows the host is no longer the obstacle. The remaining questions are the publisher’s: whether it has turned video on, whether Apple has approved the show, and how plays are reported. Our recommendation, not a platform rule: get the answer in writing before treating Apple video as part of a placement.

Methodology and Limitations

Four limits apply. First, the chart is one day’s snapshot and Apple does not publish its formula. Second, we named the host from each feed’s address, or from the audio file address where the feed is a redirect; a publisher can use one company for feeds and another for files. Third, “Offered” in Apple’s directory describes the host, not any show. Fourth, our October figures come from our October 11 reading, which did not record every host’s label.

What to Watch Next

Whether Megaphone adds dynamic video ads for Apple, which would change its directory label, and whether the largest Megaphone shows begin to announce Apple video. We will rerun the count against the chart.

Sources and Methodology

This report is built from Apple’s US Top Podcasts chart feed, Apple’s lookup service and 98 RSS feeds read November 14, 2026, Apple’s partner directory, Megaphone’s help page and two Podnews reports. The count, host classification and day count are ours.

1. live read Apple, Top Podcasts, United States (Apple marketing feed). The 100 shows and their order. Read November 14, 2026.
2. live read RSS feeds of the 100 shows, located with Apple’s public iTunes lookup service; 98 returned a feed address. Host for each show. Read November 14, 2026.
3. platform documentation Apple Podcasts for Creators, Find a partner: hosting providers. 40 hosts, video and dynamic video ad labels. Read November 14, 2026.
4. vendor Megaphone Help Center, Video distribution to Apple Podcasts. Setup, processing time, download counting. Read November 14, 2026.
5. trade press Podnews, Bartlett’s crown snatched (November 13, 2026). Megaphone launch item. Read November 14, 2026.
6. trade press Podnews, Spotify to support HLS video for Apple Podcasts (May 15, 2026). The May announcement. Read November 14, 2026.