Now Live: Firstory Video Comes to Apple Podcasts — Free Uploads for Asia-Pacific Creators

The wait is over. Firstory Video is officially live as of today, making us part of the first wave in Asia-Pacific to support video on Apple Podcasts. Whether you're in Taipei, Tokyo, Jakarta, or anywhere else in the world, you can now bring video to Apple Podcasts straight from your Firstory dashboard — and it's completely free.

Since you can't yet upload video directly through Apple Podcast Connect — it has to go through a hosting platform that supports video — Firstory is exactly the piece that handles this step for you: drop in your video, and we'll automatically transcode it and package it into the format Apple requires, with no re-editing needed. (We announced this feature at its Asia-Pacific debut, and it's now officially open for use.)

New video, more fans within reach

Your listeners are busy: commuting, multitasking, living their own lives. This update lets them move freely between video and audio depending on the moment — watch your show at home, then tap once on your way out to switch back to audio and keep listening, with no interruption.

Under the hood it's powered by HLS (HTTP Live Streaming), so playback quality adapts automatically to the network — smooth on Wi-Fi or mobile data alike. And follower and download counts are calculated exactly as before, so nothing changes for you or your listeners. Learn more about video on Apple Podcasts.

Why you should put your video on Apple Podcasts right now

Uploading through Firstory is completely free, and it can drive growth right away:

• Wider reach: attract new audiences who prefer video, while keeping your existing audio listeners.
• Finer-grained insights: clearly tell whether your audience is listening or watching, instead of relying on a single, lumped-together download total.
• Monetization ready: Firstory has opened up Dynamic Ad Insertion for the first time, and video ad revenue sharing is coming soon.

Apple Podcasts accounts for 37.5% of global listening, and this audience tends to be more willing to pay than YouTube viewers — and it's a group the algorithms can't reach. Zero cost, upload once, multiple formats, and you stay in control the whole way. See the Apple Podcasts video FAQ here.

Ready to upload your video?

New to Firstory? Sign up or migrate to Firstory now — join for free and try Apple video right away. Not sure whether a video podcast is right for you? Take a quick assessment first.

Already a Firstory user, or have 10+ episodes of video on hand? We've set up a dedicated channel to help you bulk-upload quickly — click the chat window at the bottom-right of your dashboard, or email support@firstory.me.

We're entering a new era where stories are no longer only heard, but seen. As one of the first platforms in Asia-Pacific to support this, we can't wait to see how you push past the limits of what a podcast can be.

Apple Podcasts is only the beginning. We're already working on video sync for YouTube and Spotify, with the goal of letting you upload once and publish everywhere. The era of video podcasting is just getting started — and Firstory intends to stay out in front.