Apple Podcasts is one of the world’s most popular podcast players, with almost 25% market share. The app launched in 2012, but Apple’s support for podcasting goes back much further.
The term “podcast” was originally coined in 2005 as a concatenation of iPod and broadcast. Initially, Apple wasn’t pleased with this abuse of its trademark, and sent out angry cease and desist letters. But it didn’t take long for Cupertino to come around, embracing the emerging standard by adding support in iTunes. This propelled podcasting from its early niche audience to mainstream adoption.
Podcasting’s low barriers to entry have helped to democratize and decentralize broadcasting. But the RSS subscription technology on which it is based was developed with the opposite intent. In the 1990s, big media companies felt threatened by the free-for-all of the web and hoped technologies like RSS would enable them to “push” content onto users’ screens. Fortunately, RSS found a new and better purpose in podcasting.
In this episode, we explore the fascinating story of how podcasting emerged at a time when Apple embraced and promoted open standards. We consider why Apple’s focus has shifted to proprietary technology over the years, and where this leaves Apple Podcasts today.
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LINKS
A Brief History of Data Syndication and Podcasting
The first known use of the term "podcasting"
With "pod" on lockdown, Apple goes after "podcast"
WWDC 2005 - Steve Jobs introduces Podcasting in iTunes
Thanks to Martin Algesten for sound engineering this episode.
