Breaking New Ground in Podcast Advertising
Acast has achieved a significant milestone in podcast monetization by launching the first integrated video advertising campaigns on Apple Podcasts, with State Farm and T-Mobile serving as pioneering partners in this new frontier.
As shown in the image above, the collaboration brings together three major players in their respective industries to revolutionize how brands reach podcast audiences through combined audio and video experiences.
The Technology Behind the Innovation
Acast has become the first platform to successfully monetize Apple’s HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) video environment at scale. This breakthrough moves the industry beyond simple hosting solutions to create genuine revenue opportunities for creators and advertisers alike.
The new hybrid campaigns allow advertisers to reach audiences through multi-sensory experiences that combine both audio and video creative in real-time. This approach enables brands to extend their total reach by as much as 39%, according to Acast’s data.
Early Results Show Promise
The platform’s video integration has already gained significant traction across the creator community. Currently, 117 shows have enabled Acast’s Apple HLS video integration, publishing more than 1,000 episodes to a global audience spanning the US, France, UK, Canada, and Australia.
Perhaps most importantly for the industry’s growth, 60% of HLS daily growth represents additive audience expansion rather than simply shifting existing listening behaviors. This suggests that video podcasts are attracting entirely new audiences to the medium.
Industry Leaders Embrace the Shift
The timing aligns with broader consumption trends documented in Acast’s 2025 Podcast Pulse report, which found that nearly four in five global listeners now both watch and listen to their favorite shows.
“At State Farm, we’re committed to leading innovation that connects us with audiences where they are most engaged,” said Alyson Griffin, Head of Marketing at State Farm. “As consumer habits shift toward more visual podcast experiences, working with Acast allows us to lead the market with impactful, dual-format campaigns.”
Commercial Implications for the Industry
Laura Hagen, SVP Americas at Acast, emphasized the commercial significance of this development: “This isn’t just a new feature; it’s a major commercial evolution. By partnering with innovators like State Farm and T-Mobile, we are setting the standard for how video podcasts are bought, sold, and measured.”
The move represents a fundamental shift from siloed media buying to integrated campaigns that can seamlessly measure and scale across both audio and video formats. For podcast creators and producers, this opens new revenue streams and audience development opportunities.
What This Means for Podcast Professionals
As the world’s largest pure-play podcast company, Acast connects over 140,000 storytellers with 4,000+ advertisers globally and has paid out more than $600 million to creators to date. This video advertising breakthrough positions the platform as the primary gateway for brands seeking to invest in both audio and video podcast advertising at scale.
For podcast producers and creators working in the Podwires ecosystem, this development signals the importance of preparing for multi-format content creation as video podcasts become increasingly mainstream in advertiser strategies.
Source: Podwires Newsletter
