Apple is coming in the backdoor for a multimedia monopoly built on the popularity of iTunes and its equally qualified white box companion. Many questioned Apple’s innovative spirit as they introduced the first iPod several years ago. After all, who would pay over $400 just to have a digital music player? Whatever Apple and head CEO, Steve Jobs did, it worked. Now, the iPod has become a cultural icon. Just step out on the sidewalks of any college campus or catch a ride on any major subway system in America and you can see the symbolic white headphones everywhere.

Now, with iTunes 4.9, podcasting has been thrust into the mainstream. Think of podcasting as radio for the iPod (or any MP3 player). Once subscribed to a podcast feed through iTunes, the software will automatically check for new episodes and then push them to your iPod whenever it is synced. Podcasting, a technology that has only existed for a couple years, was underground until now, characterized by almost college-raido-esque shows encoded in an MP3 format.

Now that Apple has realized the significance of this technology, Podcasting is here to stay. Companies like ABC, Disney, and CNN are jumping on board with their own podcasts available through the iTunes podcast directory, along with 4, 500 other podcast feeds. In the next few months, more traditional broadcast companies will jump on board with podcasting, delivering content in yet another form. Imagine waking up in the morning, grabbing your iPod, and listening to all the top news stories of the day on the way to work. Don’t like a story, just skip it and go right to the next segment.

So what is next? Now that Apple has conquered digital music distribution, digital music hardware, and now podcasting, what is next on their media domination list? Video. Apple is already bundling music videos with special featured albums, playable right in iTunes. Just this week, it is reported that Apple has been discussing the possibility of offering music videos for sale in the music store. Video is coming.

The backdoor that Apple is creating to the multimedia monopoly lies between podcasting and the recent addition of video support to iTunes. Apple is about to nail the coffin lid on all other digital media distributors, and possibly other digital media device manufacturers. The feeds that power the podcasting technology in iTunes not only support audio formats such as .MP3 and .ACC, but they also support .MOV, Apple’s Quicktime video format.

Once Apple releases the rumored video iPod, the clients that they have built through offering podcasting, such as ABC and CNN, will begin to start offering video segments pushed to the iPod with the same technology as podcasts. What does this mean? Within a few years, Apple will have an even greater market share by increasing the content and capabilities of the iPod. Apple’s online store will not only offer music, but also music videos and perhaps television shows. CNN headline news segments, sports highlights, and other short video content can be pushed to the iPod the same way podcasts are designed now, not to mention the possibility of eventually offering full feature-length movies.

This new video content perfectly explains Apple’s newly introduce H.264 video codec: highly compressible, yet extremely scalable. These videos need to be able to be compressed in size to minimize bandwidth and space issues. They also need to be scalable to allow for external connection to a larger display. Imagine taking your iPod to a friend’s house, connecting it to the television, and watching your favorite episode of Family Guy.

While other companies are trying to manufacture video devices without sufficient content and cell phone companies are trying to stream low quality video to tiny cell phones, Apple is coming in the backdoor, building a stable structure before expanding to other media markets. It is simply genius. Apple is in a position to become a major leader in the multimedia distribution industry.