Articles on: Apple HLS Video Podcasts

How to Connect Your Show and Request Approval for Apple Podcasts HLS Video

Publishing video podcasts to Apple Podcasts via HLS is simple with Captivate - all you need to get started is an API Key from Apple’s Podcasts Connect dashboard to connect with Captivate, and then submit an approval request to Apple to enable your podcast. Just follow the steps below.

Note: if you run a network and wish to enable video podcasts, you will be responsible for the $12 per month per podcast (plus any additional bandwidth) costs for each podcast you enable. You will also need to ensure the podcasts are claimed under your Podcasts Connect account on Apple Podcasts, which may require a transfer of ownership from your client’s Podcasts Connect account to yours - details here.

if you don’t already have a Podcasts Connect account, create one first
you’ll then need to claim your podcast on Podcasts Connect
once you’ve claimed your podcast, you can then create your API key

Note: if you use Apple Subscriptions via Captivate’s Delegated Delivery integration for premium content on Apple Podcasts, you can use that existing API Key.

on your Podcasts Connect dashboard, click Account in the top navigation menu
click Keys
click the + icon next to Active
choose a name for the Key (make it something simple like HLS, for example) then click Download

This will download the API Key File to your computer, and also generate the Key ID on your Podcasts Connect dashboard, for the HLS video support through Captivate. Now you just need to add to Captivate. There are two ways to do this.

Enable via My Account settings

log in to Captivate
click your profile picture at the top right of the dashboard
click My Account
click Apple Integration
upload or drag and drop the Key File that you downloaded from Podcasts Connect into the API Key box on Captivate - this will automatically populate the Apple Key ID box
click Save Changes

Enable via Podcast Settings

from your Podcasts Connect dashboard, copy the Apple Key ID number
log in to Captivate
click Podcast Settings
click Video Podcasts
click Connect Apple API
the Apple Integration fly-out will be displayed
paste the Apple Key ID into the box
click Save Changes

That’s it - you’re now ready to publish video directly from Captivate to Apple Podcasts. The next step is to submit an approval request to Apple to enable video on your podcast.

Submitting an enablement request to Apple Podcasts

To ensure video podcasts meet Apple Podcasts guidelines, not every show is automatically enabled for video. Instead, podcasters need to send an approval request direct to Apple, which will then go through their content review process.

Note: if you already have an approved Podcasts Connect account with active Apple API Keys, you should be approved automatically.

There are two ways to submit your request:

Creator Self-Request

log in to your Podcasts Connect account
click Contact Us (via the menu at the bottom of your Podcasts Connect dashboard)
under the Topic dropdown, select HLS Video
complete the required fields (Show Title, Apple Podcasts Show ID, Feed URL, Message)
click Send

Apple will then review your request and enable your podcast if eligible.

Request via Captivate

log in to your Captivate dashboard
Under Podcast Settings > Video Podcasts > Bandwidth Calculator, click Ask Support Now
this will send your request to our support team, and we will collate the required information and send to Apple on your behalf

Note: it can take up to two weeks for your request to be approved once the request has been submitted. You can still upload video episodes to Captivate, but they won't be published to Apple Podcasts until approved. Once approved, a confirmation email will be sent to the email address associated with your Podcasts Connect account.

Recommended reading: How to Enable Apple Video Podcasts on Captivate

Updated on: 07/05/2026

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