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Steve Jobs demoed video podcasting back in 2005
I keep seeing people say: "A podcast was always meant to be audio only." That's not true!
In October 2005, Steve Jobs demoed video podcasts on stage at an Apple keynote. He showed them as a native media type on the new iMac and the new iPod Video. He even name-dropped Tiki Bar TV, a video podcast made in an apartment in Vancouver. This was just 4 months after Apple had introduced the "podcasts."
Video podcasts were browsable side by side with audio in iTunes. Shows like Tiki Bar TV, Rocketboom, and Diggnation built massive audiences years before YouTube became the default home for video.
The belief that "podcasts = audio only" is mostly an artifact of Apple neglecting video in its Podcasts app from roughly 2012 to 2025. Now, in 2026 Apple is bringing video back to Apple Podcasts in iOS 26.4.
Click here to watch a video of this episode.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 — "Video podcasts are amazing" — Steve Jobs, 2005
0:09 — The myth: "A podcast was never meant to be watched"
0:32 — Steve Jobs demos video podcasts on the iMac and iPod
1:18 — Video podcasts were in iTunes from the start
1:37 — Tiki Bar TV, Rocketboom, Diggnation
2:05 — Why people forgot: Apple's 13-year neglect
2:22 — Apple brings video back with HLS in iOS 26.4
2:39 — How I discovered podcasting through video
3:05 — What video podcasting was always about
3:47 — "Podcasts, both spoken word and video"
Links:
- Apple press release: iTunes 4.9 / podcast support (June 2005)
- Apple press release: iPod Video + iTunes 6 (October 2005)
- Tiki Bar TV on Apple Podcasts
- Tiki Bar TV / Steve Jobs backstory (Tubefilter interview)
- Rocketboom (Wikipedia)
- Revision3 / Diggnation (Wikipedia)
- Let's Knit2gether
- Let's Knit2gether on Apple Podcasts
- Podnews: Video in Apple Podcasts — all the details
- Apple Podcasts video via HLS — how it works
- Does Transistor.fm support video podcasting?
- Video killed the audio star
- "A podcast was never meant to be watched. It was meant to be heard."
- The history of video podcasts: 2005-2026
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By Justin JacksonI keep seeing people say: "A podcast was always meant to be audio only." That's not true!
In October 2005, Steve Jobs demoed video podcasts on stage at an Apple keynote. He showed them as a native media type on the new iMac and the new iPod Video. He even name-dropped Tiki Bar TV, a video podcast made in an apartment in Vancouver. This was just 4 months after Apple had introduced the "podcasts."
Video podcasts were browsable side by side with audio in iTunes. Shows like Tiki Bar TV, Rocketboom, and Diggnation built massive audiences years before YouTube became the default home for video.
The belief that "podcasts = audio only" is mostly an artifact of Apple neglecting video in its Podcasts app from roughly 2012 to 2025. Now, in 2026 Apple is bringing video back to Apple Podcasts in iOS 26.4.
Click here to watch a video of this episode.
CHAPTERS:
0:00 — "Video podcasts are amazing" — Steve Jobs, 2005
0:09 — The myth: "A podcast was never meant to be watched"
0:32 — Steve Jobs demos video podcasts on the iMac and iPod
1:18 — Video podcasts were in iTunes from the start
1:37 — Tiki Bar TV, Rocketboom, Diggnation
2:05 — Why people forgot: Apple's 13-year neglect
2:22 — Apple brings video back with HLS in iOS 26.4
2:39 — How I discovered podcasting through video
3:05 — What video podcasting was always about
3:47 — "Podcasts, both spoken word and video"
Links:
- Apple press release: iTunes 4.9 / podcast support (June 2005)
- Apple press release: iPod Video + iTunes 6 (October 2005)
- Tiki Bar TV on Apple Podcasts
- Tiki Bar TV / Steve Jobs backstory (Tubefilter interview)
- Rocketboom (Wikipedia)
- Revision3 / Diggnation (Wikipedia)
- Let's Knit2gether
- Let's Knit2gether on Apple Podcasts
- Podnews: Video in Apple Podcasts — all the details
- Apple Podcasts video via HLS — how it works
- Does Transistor.fm support video podcasting?
- Video killed the audio star
- "A podcast was never meant to be watched. It was meant to be heard."
- The history of video podcasts: 2005-2026