Distribution

preroll.io connects to podcast hosting platforms and video services so you can publish episodes directly from your production pipeline. No need to leave preroll.io to upload files, set metadata, or schedule releases.

Supported Platforms

Transistor.fm Integration

Transistor.fm is a podcast hosting platform that distributes your show to Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and all major directories.

Connecting to Transistor

1. Go to your show's Settings > Distribution
2. Click Connect Transistor
3. Enter your Transistor API key (found in your Transistor account settings)
4. Select the matching show from your Transistor account
5. Click Save Connection

Publishing an Episode to Transistor

Once your episode is approved and ready to publish:

1. Open the episode detail view
2. Navigate to the Distribution tab
3. Click Publish to Transistor
4. Review and edit the episode metadata:

5. Choose Publish Now or Schedule (set a future publish date/time)
6. Click Publish

Publish Status Tracking

After publishing, preroll.io tracks the status:

The episode card on the Kanban board and calendar reflect the distribution status.

Updating Published Episodes

After an episode is published to Transistor, you can:

• Update the title, description, or metadata
• Replace the audio file
• Change the publish date
• Unpublish (remove from Transistor)

Changes sync to Transistor within seconds.

Castopod Integration

Castopod is a self-hosted, open-source podcast hosting platform. If you run your own Castopod instance, preroll.io can publish episodes directly to it.

Connecting to Castopod

1. Go to your show's Settings > Distribution
2. Click Connect Castopod
3. Enter your Castopod instance URL (e.g., https://podcasts.example.com)
4. Enter your Castopod username and password
5. Select the matching podcast from your Castopod instance
6. Click Save Connection

Castopod uses HTTP Basic Auth rather than OAuth. Credentials are stored per-show, not per-organization.

Publishing an Episode to Castopod

1. Open the episode detail view
2. Navigate to the Distribution tab
3. Click Publish to Castopod
4. Review and edit the episode metadata:

5. Choose Publish Now or Schedule (set a future publish date/time)
6. Click Publish

Audio is downloaded from the episode's file storage (R2, Frame.io, Google Drive, or Vimeo) and uploaded directly to Castopod as multipart form data. There is no separate upload step.

Castopod Requirements

• Your Castopod instance must be reachable from the preroll.io server
• The Castopod user account needs permissions to create and publish episodes
• Audio files must be in a format Castopod accepts (MP3, M4A, etc.)

See Castopod Integration for detailed setup and troubleshooting.

YouTube Integration

Publish video episodes directly to YouTube from preroll.io.

Connecting to YouTube

1. Go to Settings > Integrations
2. Click Connect YouTube
3. Sign in with your Google account
4. Grant preroll.io permission to upload videos and manage your channel
5. Select the YouTube channel to use (if you have multiple)

Publishing an Episode to YouTube

1. Open the episode detail view
2. Navigate to the Distribution tab
3. Click Publish to YouTube
4. Configure the video details:

5. Select the video file from episode assets
6. Click Publish

YouTube Features

• Thumbnail upload — Use episode thumbnails or upload a custom image
• Playlist management — Automatically add episodes to a show playlist
• Scheduled premieres — Set videos to premiere at a specific date/time
• Privacy controls — Publish as public, unlisted, or private
• Description templates — Pre-fill descriptions with standard links and credits

YouTube Status Tracking

Scheduled Publishing

All distribution platforms support scheduled publishing:

Setting a Schedule

1. When publishing, select Schedule instead of Publish Now
2. Set the date and time (in your show's configured timezone)
3. Confirm the schedule

Managing Scheduled Episodes

• Scheduled episodes show a clock icon on the Kanban board
• The calendar view displays scheduled publish dates
• You can reschedule or cancel before the publish time
• preroll.io sends a confirmation notification when the episode goes live

Multi-Platform Publishing

Publish the same episode to multiple platforms:

• Audio version to Transistor.fm or Castopod
• Video version to YouTube
• Each platform has independent metadata and status tracking
• Publish to any combination of platforms per episode

Metadata Management

Episode Metadata

preroll.io maintains a single source of truth for episode information that can be pushed to any platform:

• Title and description flow from the episode record
• Platform-specific fields (tags, category, privacy) are configured per-platform
• Changes to episode metadata can be synced to already-published episodes

Description Formatting

• Transistor accepts HTML and plain text
• YouTube accepts plain text with limited formatting
• preroll.io stores your description as rich text and converts appropriately for each platform

Error Handling

When publishing fails:

1. The distribution status shows failed
2. Error details are displayed in the distribution tab
3. Common causes:
   • Expired OAuth token (re-authenticate in Settings)
   • File too large for the platform
   • Missing required metadata
   • Platform API rate limits
4. Click Retry to attempt publishing again after fixing the issue

Plan Requirements

Distribution features are available during the 7-day Studio trial.