Whether listening on the morning commute, while working out at the gym, or any other time, Podcasts are an integral part of many people’s daily lives. Podcasts are a natural fit with the Plex ecosystem and they’re available free to all users

Player Support

The following Plex player app versions have support for podcasts:

• Android (mobile)
• Android Auto
• Android TV
• Apple TV
• Chromecast
• iOS
• macOS (desktop)
• PlayStation 4
• Plex Media Player
• Plex Web App
• Roku
• Sonos
• Smart TV (LG 4K/UHD [webOS 2.0+], Samsung 2016+ UHD)
• Windows (desktop)
• Xbox One

Enable or Disable

Using the Web app, go in to your account settings to turn Podcasts on or off for your account.

Your options are

• Enabled: Podcasts will be available for the current account (and any Managed Users in a Plex Home the account administers)
• Disabled: Podcasts will not appear anywhere in apps for the current account (nor will it appear for any Managed Users in a Plex Home the account administers)
• Disabled for Managed Users: Podcasts will be available for the current account but will not appear for any Managed Users in a Plex Home the account administers (default selection)

Related Page: Online Media Sources

Navigation

Podcast Discovery Screen

The main podcast page can be found in the web app on the bottom of the left sidebar under “Online Content”.

In the iOS and Android mobile apps, it can be found via the navigation row at the bottom of screen. Depending on how you arranged this on mobile you, may have to hit the … More button.

Related Page: Navigating the Mobile Apps

 

In Roku, select Podcasts on the left navigation.

On the main podcast screen in app, you may see:

• On Deck: Episodes for shows in “My Podcasts” that are in-progress or are up next and waiting
• Recommended: Recommendations based on your podcast listening (it’s a set of popular podcasts, if you have not listened to any yet)
• My Podcasts: Enter a list of all your saved podcasts
• Categories: A list of categories you can browse as desired
• Popular category and other discovery rows

My Podcasts: Adding and Removing

Adding

To track podcasts, you add/save that podcast to My Podcasts. On Deck will only show episodes from those saved in My Podcasts.

There are a few ways to add/save podcasts to My Podcasts, depending on app. (The Roku app does not currently have these options)

• Go to the main summary screen for that Podcast show and use the Add to My Podcasts button
• In supported mobile apps, hit the … menu on an episode and choose to add
• On the main Podcast screen, use the Add a Podcast by URL button to manually add a podcast (top right in the web app and at the bottom of the mobile apps)
• Import OPML file exported from another podcasting app so you can add all your favorite podcasts at once. (In the Web app, after clicking on the Add a Podcast by URL button you will see option to import OPML)

 

Tip!: Most websites for podcasts will have an RSS feed link that you can use.

Removing

You can remove a podcast from My Podcasts in several ways:

• From an episode On Deck use the … menu and choose to remove from My Podcasts
• On the preplay screen for that podcast in the web app, click the In My Podcasts button so that the green checkmark disappears
• In mobile apps click the … menu and choose to remove

Downloading Podcast to Plex mobile apps

You can download individual episodes or a number of episodes per podcast show from a Plex Mobile app.

For an individual podcast episode navigate to that episode in the app and click on the download arrow.

To download a number of episodes for a Podcast show navigate to the main show page and click the download arrow. Then you will be presented with another screen with options for how many to keep at a time and when to delete an episode after it has been played.

You can view download status and delete episodes manually in the apps Download and Sync settings

Podcast Settings

Each Podcast has a couple settings. You can access these via the preference menu on the podcast show preplay (not episode preplay).

• Order by Newest or Oldest first
• Change playback speed default for that show from 0.5x to 2x

Frequently Asked Questions

Do I need a Plex Media Server to use podcasts?

No, podcasts are free and do not require any Plex Media Server.

Are podcasts requiring authentication supported?

Podcasts requiring authentication are not supported.

How do I disable Podcasts if I don’t want them?

You can turn off Podcast for yourself (and/or your Managed Users) at any time in your Online Media Sources account settings.

Related Page: Online Media Sources

I run a Podcast; how can I get it added to your catalog?

Our catalog of podcasts is sourced in many ways, including employee additions and third-party sources. It’s growing rapidly daily and you can expect that nearly all of your favorites will be available soon. We hope to add a more formal podcast submission process in the future, but one isn’t currently available, sorry.

Currently, the best way to contribute getting new sources into the catalog is to simply add them yourself via the app (the Add Podcast by URL button). We’ll continue to evaluate the most popular user additions to promote to our public catalog.