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Due to the growing consumption of videos, Spotify begins to accept video content

Spotify now allows podcasts not hosted on its own platform to upload videos in episodes. The company released the new feature last week without making any public announcement, a Spotify spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch.

Videos in podcast episodes on Spotify, until then, were only allowed in podcasts hosted on the company's own platform, Spotify for Podcasters. The change allows any podcast, regardless of hosting, to have videos when played in audio streaming.

Podcast creators can also separate their video and audio feeds, but this can cause some confusion as episodes become duplicated.

To use the new feature, creators must navigate to the Spotify for Podcasters portal, find the audio-only version of a podcast episode, and click the three dots on the right to add a video version.

Spotify has been focusing more on video podcasts in recent years, which appears to be paying off. The platform now has more than 250 thousand video podcasts, compared to 100 thousand that existed in 2023.

“Video is becoming central to the overall Spotify experience,” said Maya Prohovnik, vice president of podcast products at Spotify, in a statement.

“With the number of podcasters publishing videos on our platform growing by almost 70% in the last year, it's clear that video podcasts are resonating with users, and the appetite for video content has increased immensely,” added Maya.

There are more than 170 million global users watching video podcasts on Spotify, the streaming company says;

The number of monthly active users watching video podcasts grew 40% year-on-year;

The platform also recorded a greater increase in hours of video consumption compared to hours of audio-only consumption in the same period.

mundophone