Podtrac's ranking of the Top 20 Podcasts based on U.S. Unique Monthly Audience for November 2020 is now available at Podtrac.com.
For even more podcast data, check out Podtrac’s Top Podcasts by Category .
Visit Podtrac.com to sign-up to receive monthly updates to Podtrac's Top 20 Podcasts and Top 20 Podcast Publishers ranking reports.
Nine of the Top 20 publishers saw an increase in US monthly Audience in November over October.
Three Top 20 publishers saw positive growth in their Global Download numbers from October to November.
The average US Unique Monthly Audience for the Top 10 publishers was up 1% month-over-month.
Global Unique Streams & Downloads decreased for the Top 10 publishers by 10% from October and increased by 40% over November 2019.
Podtrac's ranking of the Top 20 Podcasts based on U.S. Unique Monthly Audience for October 2020 is now available at Podtrac.com.
For even more podcast data, check out Podtrac’s Top Podcasts by Category .
*With the increasing popularity of shows which publish multiple times a day, beginning in December 2019, we now include theses shows in the Podtrac Top Podcast ranking. Previously these shows were excluded. While the counts for these shows are IAB V2 compliant, it should be noted that a segment of their audience members may listen to these shows from multiple locations throughout the day and present themselves technically as multiple unique users.
Visit Podtrac.com to sign-up to receive monthly updates to Podtrac's Top 20 Podcasts and Top 20 Podcast Publishers ranking reports.
Six of the Top 20 publishers saw an increase in US monthly Audience in October over September.
Ten Top 20 publishers saw positive growth in their Global Download numbers from September to October.
The average US Unique Monthly Audience for the Top 10 publishers was down 1% month-over-month.
Global Unique Streams & Downloads increased for the Top 10 publishers by 3% over September and increased by 46% over October 2019.
Note: Per IAB Guidelines, Apple Watch traffic was removed from Podtrac measurement counts as of October 1, 2020
Update through week ending November 1, 2020
For the week of October 26 - November 1, 2020 downloads were unchanged over the previous week and up 47% over the corresponding period last year for Podtrac measured shows.
The True Crime category showed the highest week-over-week download growth at 13%.
The Science and Sports categories showed the weakest growth week-over-week at -3% each.
Download growth for the 52-week period from October 28, 2019 to November 01, 2020 was +47% across all Podtrac measured podcasts.
Week-over-week download growth for the week of October 26, 2020 to November 01, 2020 was 0% across all Podtrac measured podcasts.
Download growth for the 52-week period from October 28, 2019 to November 01, 2020 was +8% for Arts, +39% for Business, +32% for Comedy, -2% for Education, +4% for History, +107% for News, +12% for Science, +12% for Society & Culture, +36% for Sports, and +70% for True Crime.
Week-over-week download growth for the week of October 26, 2020 to November 01, 2020 was 0% for Arts, +2% for Business, -2% for Comedy, -2% for Education, +8% for History, -1% for News, -3% for Science, +2% for Society & Culture, -3% for Sports, and +13% for True Crime.
Podtrac’s Weekly Podcast Data is brought to you by iHeartRadio
Update through week ending October 25, 2020
For the week of October 19 - October 25, 2020 downloads were up 2% over the previous week and up 43% over the corresponding period last year for Podtrac measured shows.
The Arts category showed the highest week-over-week download growth at 9%.
The Education category showed the weakest growth week-over-week at -6%.
Download growth for the 52-week period from October 21, 2019 to October 25, 2020 was +43% across all Podtrac measured podcasts.
Week-over-week download growth for the week of October 19, 2020 to October 25, 2020 was +2% across all Podtrac measured podcasts.
Download growth for the 52-week period from October 21, 2019 to October 25, 2020 was +8% for Arts, +25% for Business, +26% for Comedy, 0% for Education, -6% for History, +103% for News, +8% for Science, +11% for Society & Culture, +36% for Sports, and +41% for True Crime.
Week-over-week download growth for the week of October 19, 2020 to October 25, 2020 was +9% for Arts, +2% for Business, -5% for Comedy, -6% for Education, +2% for History, +4% for News, -2% for Science, +6% for Society & Culture, 0% for Sports, and -2% for True Crime.
Podtrac’s Weekly Podcast Data is brought to you by iHeartRadio
Wondering what this holiday season may look like for podcast listeners? Here’s some data which may shed some light on what the holidays have in store.
Based on an iHeart survey of podcast listeners conducted between August 31 and September 7 of this year, 6 in 10 expect to spend the same or more time than last year traveling by car over the holidays, and 8 in 10 plan to spend more time than last year with family.
Will more time in the car lead to more podcast listening? Or does more family time mean less podcast listening? iHeart Executive VP Hetal Patel thinks that podcast listeners actively looking forward to the holidays can only be good for podcast listening. Commented Patel:
“Our survey indicates that three-quarters of podcast listeners are looking for experiences that improve their mood this holiday season. Podcast listening has continued to grow during the pandemic and given the early indicators we are seeing; we expect people to continue listening to podcasts as it provides the enjoyment they crave.”
For more insight into what 2020 pandemic holiday podcast listening might look like, we took a look at historical data from Podtrac which shows some interesting patterns.
Based on Podtrac’s measurement data for the top 100 podcasts it measures, Wednesdays are consistently the highest podcast listening day of the week with traffic dipping on the weekends and Sunday being the lowest listening day of the week as illustrated by the Q4 2019 data below. This pattern has continued through the pandemic to date.
Podtrac data also shows that October tends to be the highest podcast listening month of the year, with downloads dipping during November and December but not as low as levels earlier in the year.
Podcast listening tends to drop over Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s holidays per data from Podtrac, but is above average before and after those holidays, with strongest listening for the season in early January.
While overall podcast listening is down slightly in November and December from October levels, two categories - Music and Leisure - showed increased listening during this time frame in 2019, per data from Podtrac.
Given the surprises that 2020 has held for us so far, we can’t be certain what podcast listening will look like during the holidays this year, but signs point to continued growth.
“It will certainly be interesting to track the data to determine if the pandemic does have an influence on podcast listening over this holiday season,” commented Podtrac CEO Mark McCrery.
Update through week ending October 18, 2020
For the week of October 12 - October 18 downloads were down 4% over the previous week and up 40% over the corresponding period last year for Podtrac measured shows.
The Arts category showed the only week-over-week positive download growth at 1%.
The Business category showed the lowest week-over-week download growth at -8%.
Download growth for the 52-week period from October 14, 2019 to October 18, 2020 was +40% across all Podtrac measured podcasts. Download growth for the prior 52-week period from October 07, 2019 to October 11, 2020 was +47% across all Podtrac measured podcasts.
Week-over-week download growth for the week of October 12, 2020 to October 18, 2020 was -4% across all Podtrac measured podcasts. Week-over-week download growth for the week of October 05, 2020 to October 11, 2020 was -6% across all Podtrac measured podcasts.
Download growth for the 52-week period from October 14, 2019 to October 18, 2020 was +1% for Arts, +17% for Business, +24% for Comedy, +5% for Education, +3% for History, +98% for News, +19% for Science, +7% for Society & Culture, +38% for Sports, and +59% for True Crime.
Week-over-week download growth for the week of October 12, 2020 to October 18, 2020 was +1% for Arts, -8% for Business, -1% for Comedy, -1% for Education, -6% for History, -6% for News, -7% for Science, -7% for Society & Culture, -2% for Sports, and -4% for True Crime.
Podtrac’s Weekly Podcast Data is brought to you by iHeartRadio
Podtrac's ranking of the Top 20 Podcasts based on U.S. Unique Monthly Audience for September 2020 is now available at Podtrac.com.
For even more podcast data, check out Podtrac’s Top Podcasts by Category .
Visit Podtrac.com to sign-up to receive monthly updates to Podtrac's Top 20 Podcasts and Top 20 Podcast Publishers ranking reports.