The platform is able to support podcasting via Podcast RSS feeds. To add a podcast playlist, see the steps described in the Playlists article.

How to Use

Once you have added a podcast feed to the system as a playlist, add the playlist directly to a Section or Collection, or catalog it as a Season in a Series or the entire playlists as a Limited Series. 

Podcast playlists are supported on mobile platforms only at this time, and can utilize the "Podcast" layout:

Once enabled, the feed will be rendered using a layout that is optimized for displaying podcast episodes:

When a user taps on a playlist entry, they will be presented with an interstitial screen for the episode, and if the content is available to them, a "Play" button. Tapping that button will display an inline player:

Users may subscribe to podcasts, which will result in new episodes automatically being downloaded to the device for offline listening.

Creating Podcast Feeds

The platform is able to consume RSS-based feeds using XML namespace extensions from Apple iTunes and Google Play. Testing of Podcast RSS feeds can be done using this validator. 

Apple Extensions

See the Apple support site for more information about using Apple's RSS extensions. A sample playlist is shown here:

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/">
  <channel>
    <title>Hiking Treks</title>
    <link>https://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/</link>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <copyright>&#169; 2020 John Appleseed</copyright>
    <itunes:author>The Sunset Explorers</itunes:author>
    <description>
      Love to get outdoors and discover nature&apos;s treasures? Hiking Treks is the
      show for you. We review hikes and excursions, review outdoor gear and interview
      a variety of naturalists and adventurers. Look for new episodes each week.
    </description>
    <itunes:type>serial</itunes:type>
    <itunes:owner>
      <itunes:name>Sunset Explorers</itunes:name>
      <itunes:email>mountainscape@icloud.com</itunes:email>
    </itunes:owner>
    <itunes:image
      href="https://applehosted.podcasts.apple.com/hiking_treks/artwork.png"
    />
    <itunes:category text="Sports">
      <itunes:category text="Wilderness"/>
    </itunes:category>
    <itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit>
    <item>
      <itunes:episodeType>trailer</itunes:episodeType>
      <itunes:title>Hiking Treks Trailer</itunes:title>
      <description>
          <![CDATA[The Sunset Explorers share tips, techniques and recommendations for
          great hikes and adventures around the United States. Listen on 
          <a href="https://www.apple.com/itunes/podcasts/">Apple Podcasts</a>.]]>
      <itunes:image
   href="https://applehosted.podcasts.apple.com/hiking_treks/artwork.png"
    />
      </description>
      <enclosure 
        length="498537" 
        type="audio/mpeg" 
        url="http://example.com/podcasts/everything/AllAboutEverythingEpisode4.mp3"
      />
      <guid>aae20190418</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 8 Jan 2019 01:15:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <itunes:duration>1079</itunes:duration>
      <itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit>
    </item>
    <item>
      <itunes:episodeType>full</itunes:episodeType>
      <itunes:episode>4</itunes:episode>
      <itunes:season>2</itunes:season>
      <title>S02 EP04 Mt. Hood, Oregon</title>
      <description>
        Tips for trekking around the tallest mountain in Oregon
      </description>
      <itunes:image
      href="https://applehosted.podcasts.apple.com/hiking_treks/artwork.png"
    />
      <enclosure
        length="8727310" 
        type="audio/x-m4a" 
        url="http://example.com/podcasts/everything/mthood.m4a"
      />
      <guid>aae20190606</guid>
      <pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2019 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <itunes:duration>1024</itunes:duration>
      <itunes:explicit>false</itunes:explicit>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>

Google Extensions

See the Google support site for more information about playlists utilizing Google's RSS extensions. A sample playlist is shown here (note this example also includes the Apple extensions):

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<rss version="2.0" xmlns:googleplay="http://www.google.com/schemas/play-podcasts/1.0"
     xmlns:itunes="http://www.itunes.com/dtds/podcast-1.0.dtd">
  <channel>
    <title>Dafna's Zebra Podcast</title>
    <googleplay:author>Dafna</googleplay:author>
    <description>A pet-owner's guide to the popular striped equine.</description>
    <googleplay:image href="http://www.example.com/podcasts/dafnas-zebras/img/dafna-zebra-pod-logo.jpg"/>
    <language>en-us</language>
    <link>https://www.example.com/podcasts/dafnas-zebras/</link>
    <item>
      <title>Top 10 myths about caring for a zebra</title>
      <description>Here are the top 10 misunderstandings about the care, feeding, and breeding of these lovable striped animals.</description>
<itunes:image
   href="https://applehosted.podcasts.apple.com/hiking_treks/artwork.png"
    />
      <pubDate>Tue, 14 Mar 2017 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <enclosure url="https://www.example.com/podcasts/dafnas-zebras/audio/toptenmyths.mp3"
                 type="audio/mpeg" length="34216300"/>
      <itunes:duration>30:00</itunes:duration>
      <guid isPermaLink="false">dzpodtop10</guid>
    </item>
    <item>
      <title>Keeping those stripes neat and clean</title>
      <description>Keeping your zebra clean is time consuming, but worth the effort.</description>
      <itunes:image
   href="https://applehosted.podcasts.apple.com/hiking_treks/artwork.png"
    />
      <pubDate>Fri, 24 Feb 2017 12:00:00 GMT</pubDate>
      <enclosure url="https://www.example.com/podcasts/dafnas-zebras/audio/cleanstripes.mp3"
                 type="audio/mpeg" length="26004388"/>
      <itunes:duration>22:48</itunes:duration>
      <guid>dzpodclean</guid>
    </item>
  </channel>
</rss>

Notes

The duration value should be in one of the following formats as:

• hours:minutes:seconds
  • Example: <itunes:duration>1:10:00</itunes:duration>
• minutes:seconds
  • Example: <itunes:duration>10:00</itunes:duration>
• total_seconds
  • Example: <itunes:duration>1800</itunes:duration>