3 Comments

Yes I agree. The 3/4 podcast apps should have the ability to view captions. I can't stress how important it is to be inclusive and make sure that everyone can enjoy your podcast.

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YES!!! This is one of my biggest bugbears with the industry. According to the Podcast Index, there are 42 podcast apps (there's probably more, but I'll use their filter here). Of these 42, only 18 support transcripts. But 25 support Chapters, which - while useful - I'd suggest are a lot less useful than transcripts. Without transcripts, you're essentially telling the hard of hearing community that they're not a valued audience.

It's not that hard, either, to support. And, from a podcaster's point of view, not that expensive to implement on your show either - there are some great free options, along with inexpensive options when it comes to transcript services. And there's really no excuse for podcast hosting companies to not support the feature, either (though, in fairness, 20 of the 29 podcast hosting companies listed on Podcast Index support, so the ratio is much better compared to podcast apps).

This is where the "Big Boys" need to step up and introduce/support an industry standard. Apple, Spotify, and Amazon have the dollars to support - now it'd be nice to see these dollars used for something that truly makes the medium an inclusive one.

And thank you for the shout re. Be a Better Podcaster, appreciated!

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Ahh thank you so much for this super thoughtful comment Danny! So many great insghts here. The most annoying thing is knowing that the transcripts that podcasters provide aren't being taken advantage of -- there's no way its that expensive of an ask!

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