ATV2 Not Playing Podcasts

I'm having the exact same issue. Only started from today. Most of the podcasts I added to favourites don't play and I just get thrown to the home screen.

Is there some iTunes maintenance that's going or is this an issue?

Yes I'm also having the same problem. Notice it only started to happen today as well. I did a reset but that didn't work so did a restore but that didn't work also. It seems to be only Podcasts that aren't working. Movies, music, etc. all seems to be working okay.

I hope this is only some kind of update/maintenance and not a hardware issue. Anybody has any ideas?

Same here. Problem started the night of March 3rd. TWiT and CNET podcasts affected, although I was able to play the iPad 2 keynote podcast.

I was getting ready to take my ATV2 to the Apple store for an exchange, but it looks like a server side issue.

Same here. Brand new Atv2. No one has mentioned, but for me, audio podcasts play fine. Video podcasts cause the blackout and loss of signal to the tv for a second, followed by a quick reboot of the unit. Just tried again at 6:15a est.

Must be on their end. At least I'm not alone!

Yep. Same here.
Glad to know its server side instead of something wrong with my account.
Maybe it is because they are migrating data to the new data center in Maiden.

Same problem here... it is quite annoying. I was able to play a TED Talk podcast... but none of my other podcasts. Whats up?

Same problem for me - TWIT & CNET podcasts cause the ATV2 to crash. Other podcasts seem OK. Has it something to do with the iTunes update yesterday?

The problem only started today - I was playing podcasts yesterday fine (I was catching up on all the iPad2 goodness).

I should also say that the crash happens when selecting a podcast from the list of available shows - i.e. I don't get the 'PLAY' screen - it crashes without displaying the info screen about an episode which has the PLAY button - so I am not even starting the podcast. The problem happens whether selecting podcasts from Favorites or from Providers.

I can get to the info screen of my other podcasts..... mine crashes when I press play.

for me they seem to play if I press 'play' on the remote from the episodes list - rather then pressing 'select' on the remote - pressing 'select' still seems to be crashing most.

It worked! Thanks, dvalentine!

I hope they fix this soon. I use a Harmony remote and don't have a button mapped for the play button. It would suck to have to have another remote just to watch a podcast.