Publishing Video Podcast to YouTube Video | YouTube Video

With Podigee you can publish your podcast on YouTube not only as audio, but also as a video podcast. You'll find the setup in your podcast under Exports, in the Video section, on the YouTube Video card.

💡 The Exports tab is only available once your podcast has been published and has at least one published episode.

What you need before you start

Before you enable YouTube Video, make sure the following is true:

Your podcast is published.
Your podcast has at least one published episode.
Your Podigee plan includes the Video package.
You have a Google account with at least one YouTube channel.
For an episode to appear as video on YouTube, you actually need to upload a video file to that episode.

Technical requirements for your video file

To make sure your video episodes upload smoothly to YouTube, your file should meet these specs:

Format: MP4 (recommended) – MOV, MKV, AVI, OGG, and WebM are also accepted
Maximum file size: 20 GB per upload
Resolution: 1920×1080 (Full HD) recommended; larger files are downscaled automatically
Frame rate: constant 24, 25, or 30 fps
Video bitrate: 8–12 Mbps for 1080p
Audio codec: AAC, stereo
Audio sample rate: 48 kHz
Audio bitrate: at least 192 kbps

What happens when you enable YouTube Video?

When you enable YouTube Video, Podigee connects your podcast with your YouTube channel. From then on, eligible video episodes are automatically uploaded to YouTube.

Good to know:

Only episodes with a video file can be published as video on YouTube.
Audio-only episodes are not automatically converted into videos.
Podigee does not create a still-image video from an audio episode in this workflow.

❗️ Old audio episodes without a video file are not automatically converted to YouTube videos. Old video episodes can be included depending on what you pick during setup.

How to set up YouTube Video

Open your podcast in Podigee.
Go to the Exports tab.
In the Video section, click the YouTube Video card.
Click Connect YouTube Account and sign in with your Google account. Allow Podigee access to your YouTube channel.
Select the YouTube channel where your videos should be published. If you only have one channel, it's selected automatically.
Choose the default privacy setting for your uploads:
- Public: Anyone can search for and watch your video.
- Unlisted: Anyone with the link can watch, but the video won't appear in search results or on your channel page.
- Private: Only you can watch the video. Useful for drafts or internal content.
Pick a YouTube category. The category helps YouTube recommend your video to the right audience.
Check the box to confirm that your video episodes will be uploaded to the selected channel.
Under Which episodes should be uploaded to YouTube?, decide which episodes are included:
- New episodes only: Only episodes published after activation will be uploaded.
- Last 10 episodes: Upload the 10 most recent episodes plus all future ones.
- All episodes: Upload your entire back catalogue to YouTube.
Click Enable YouTube Video.

💡 If your Google account doesn't have a YouTube channel yet, Podigee shows a hint with a link to create one. Create a YouTube channel first, then reopen the dialog.

What happens to existing episodes?

Existing audio-only episodes

Published audio-only episodes are not automatically turned into YouTube videos. That means:

Podigee doesn't create a video from your audio.
These episodes are not automatically uploaded to YouTube.
They remain regular audio episodes.

Existing video episodes

Which older video episodes get uploaded depends directly on what you select during setup:

New episodes only: Older episodes are not uploaded.
Last 10 episodes: The 10 most recent published episodes are uploaded, provided they have a video file.
All episodes: Your entire published back catalogue is uploaded, provided the episodes have a video file.

Even with Last 10 episodes or All episodes, audio-only episodes are not automatically converted into videos.

What happens after activation?

After activation, Podigee processes the setup in the background. Depending on how many episodes you have and how fast YouTube is processing, that can take a moment.

On the YouTube Video card, you'll see statuses like:

Activation in progress. This can take a little while.
YouTube Video is enabled
If something fails: We could not activate YouTube Video right now. Please try again.

Once YouTube Video is active, newly published video episodes are automatically processed and uploaded to YouTube.

Status of individual episodes

You'll find the per-episode status directly inside the episode, under Media file. There you can see:

whether the episode was uploaded to YouTube,
whether it's still being processed,
whether there's an error,
whether the episode has a video file at all.

Managing YouTube Video

Once YouTube Video is enabled, the YouTube Video card gives you these actions:

View YouTube channel: Opens your YouTube channel directly.
Change default privacy setting: The selection (Public / Unlisted / Private) applies to future uploads and can be adjusted at any time.
Change YouTube category: The category can also be updated later.
Disconnect YouTube Video: Ends the connection between Podigee and your YouTube channel. No new videos will be uploaded.
Disconnect YouTube account: Removes the OAuth connection to your Google account entirely.

💡 You can re-enable YouTube Video any time. If you've disconnected your YouTube account, you'll need to sign in with Google again when you re-enable.

Common problems and solutions

YouTube Video can't be enabled

Possible reasons:

The podcast isn't published yet.
There's no published episode yet.
Your Podigee plan doesn't include the Video package.
Your YouTube account isn't (or is no longer) connected to Podigee.
Your Google account doesn't have a YouTube channel.

An episode doesn't show up as video on YouTube

Please check:

Did you actually upload a video file to the episode? If not, Podigee shows the error: "Your episode does not have a video file."
Is the episode published?
Is YouTube Video fully active (status: YouTube Video is enabled)?
Is the episode still being processed?
Is your video file in a YouTube-supported format?
Does your uploaded thumbnail have a 16:9 aspect ratio? Otherwise the error appears: "The selected thumbnail must be 16:9." Automatically generated thumbnails are adjusted accordingly by Podigee.

Older episodes don't appear on YouTube

This usually happens when New episodes only was selected during setup, or because the older episodes don't have a video file. In that case, the only path is to add a video file to the episode and re-publish it.

FAQ

Will old audio episodes automatically become YouTube videos?

No. Podigee does not create a video from an audio-only episode in this workflow.

Can I automatically turn an audio-only episode into a YouTube video?

No. You'll need to add a real video file to the episode.

Are old video episodes included?

Yes, depending on what you pick under Which episodes should be uploaded to YouTube? (New episodes only / Last 10 episodes / All episodes).

Are new video episodes published automatically?

Yes. Once the YouTube connection is active, newly published video episodes are processed and uploaded to YouTube automatically.

Is dynamic advertisement possible?

Dynamic ad insertion for video podcasts is currently not supported.

Are chapter marks possible?

Chapter marks are supported for YouTube Video. Also the need to meet the requirements, which you can find here: Chapter Marks

Can I change the privacy setting later?

Yes. You can change the default privacy setting (Public / Unlisted / Private) any time on the YouTube Video card. It then applies to all future uploads.

What happens when I disconnect YouTube Video?

No new videos are uploaded. Videos already on YouTube stay on your channel. You can re-enable YouTube Video any time.

What's the difference between "Disconnect YouTube Video" and "Disconnect YouTube account"?

Disconnect YouTube Video only ends this podcast's connection to YouTube. Disconnect YouTube account removes the OAuth connection to your Google account entirely – this also affects any other podcasts using the same account.