🎙️Podcast
Tuned Global supports the ingestion, hosting, management and delivery of podcasts as part of the Tuned Global Platform.
Podcast feeds are configured through the Tuned Global CMS. Once configured, Tuned Global ingests the podcast and its available episodes, maintains the catalogue by regularly monitoring the source feed, and makes the podcast content available across the platform.
This provides a single integrated platform for managing podcasts alongside music and other supported media types.
How podcast ingestion works
The podcast workflow has four stages:
- Configure the podcast feed in the CMS.
- Tuned Global ingests the podcast and its available episodes.
- Tuned Global monitors the feed every 6 hours for new or updated content.
- The podcast and episodes are made available through the APIs and other platform services.
Step-by-step
1
Configure the podcast in the AutoTune CMS
Use the Autotune CMS to identify the podcasts that should be ingested and monitored.
For each podcast, provide the RSS feed used by the podcast publisher. Tuned Global supports:
- Open RSS feeds
- Secured RSS feeds
Support for both open and secured RSS feeds allows services to work with a broad range of podcast providers and distribution models.
Once the feed has been configured, the remaining ingestion and monitoring process is managed automatically by the platform.
2
Podcast and episode ingestion
Tuned Global reads the configured RSS feed and ingests the podcast directly into the platform.
The initial ingestion includes the full podcast catalogue currently available through the feed, including:
- Podcast series metadata
- Episode metadata
- Podcast and episode audio assets
- Podcast and episode images
- Available transcription assets
After processing is complete, the podcast and its episodes are available within the Tuned Global Platform without requiring the service operator to separately upload or manage the individual assets.
Asset hosting and management
Tuned Global can host and manage the assets required to deliver the podcast experience, including:
- Podcast audio files
- Episode audio files
- Podcast images
- Episode images
- Transcriptions
This allows podcast content and its associated assets to be managed within the same integrated platform as music and other supported media types.
Client applications can access the managed assets through the Tuned Global Platform without needing to retrieve and manage each asset directly from the original publisher feed.
Transcriptions
Where transcriptions are available, or are generated as part of the configured workflow, Tuned Global can ingest, manage and host the transcription assets associated with each episode.
Transcriptions can support:
- Search and discovery
- Accessibility
- User experience enhancements
- Editorial workflows
- Moderation workflows
The availability and generation of transcriptions depend on the podcast source and the configured service workflow.
3
Automatic monitoring and maintenance
After the initial ingestion, Tuned Global monitors the podcast feed every 6 hours.
Podcast catalogues are dynamic, and new episodes may be released daily, weekly or according to any other schedule determined by the publisher.
During each check, the platform determines whether:
- New episodes have been published
- Existing podcast or episode metadata has changed
- New or updated audio, image or transcription assets are available
- Episodes have been removed from the source feed
Where new or updated content is detected, Tuned Global processes the changes and updates the podcast catalogue automatically.
When an episode is removed from the source feed, the corresponding change can also be reflected in the platform catalogue.
This allows the podcast catalogue to remain current without requiring the service operator to manually ingest or maintain each new episode.
4
Make podcasts available across the platform
Once ingested, podcasts and episodes are available through the Tuned Global APIs and may also be used within other platform services.
The Podcast APIs support:
- Access to associated audio, image and transcription assets
This allows partners to incorporate podcast content into client applications and services alongside music and other supported media types.
Use podcast episodes in Live Radio stations
Podcast episodes can also be scheduled as content within Tuned Global Live Radio stations.
This allows a linear radio station to combine:
- Music tracks
- Podcast episodes
- Station imaging
- Other scheduled audio content
Podcast episodes can therefore form part of a continuous, programmed listening experience rather than being available only as individually selected, on-demand content.
For example, a station can schedule music throughout the day while inserting selected podcast episodes or spoken-word segments at defined times.
This enables hybrid radio experiences that combine music programming and podcast content within the same linear station.
Read about Unified Listening and ShadowQ for more information.
Operational flow
CMS configuration
CMS configuration
Add the podcast RSS feed and enable it for ingestion and monitoring.
Initial ingestion
Initial ingestion
Tuned Global imports the podcast, its available episodes, metadata and associated assets.
Asset hosting and management
Asset hosting and management
Podcast audio, episode audio, images and available transcriptions can be hosted and managed within the Tuned Global Platform.
Automated maintenance
Automated maintenance
The source RSS feed is checked every 6 hours. New, changed or removed content is processed and the platform catalogue is updated automatically.
Platform availability
Platform availability
The podcast and its episodes are available through the Podcast APIs and may also be scheduled as content within Live Radio stations.
Podcast RSS Feed Specification
Podcast feeds must comply with the supported Tuned Global RSS structure.
The Podcast RSS Feed Specification defines:
- Supported RSS and podcast namespaces
- Required and optional podcast elements
- Required and optional episode elements
- Alternative supported metadata elements
- Audio requirements
- Image requirements
- Transcription requirements
- XML examples
See Podcast RSS Feed Specification for the complete technical requirements.
Related APIs
- Metadata access, including associated assets (audio, images, transcriptions)
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- 🎙️Podcast