NPR posts record audience numbers across all platforms

NPR rectangle 02NPR announced some improvements to its ratings and audience growth. President and CEO Jarl Mohn credited some of the boost to the election cycle, but added that “first rate journalism, riveting storytelling, revamped newsmagazines, live reporting, and better user platforms” were also part of the success.

Total weekly listeners across NPR stations reached about 36.6 million. The All Things Considered show hit an all-time record weekly audience of 13.3 million, while Morning Edition reached its second-highest weekly number at 13.5 million.

The broadcaster also performed well in podcasts, with 63 million unique downloads in September according to Podtrac’s rankings. Any new NPR podcast debuting in the past two years reached No. 1 on the iTunes top ten ranking at launch.

NPR One has posted good results, with 124% growth year-over-year. The NPR.org website also saw 40 million unique visitors in September, another record. The election helped NPR’s digital presence. The first presidential debate and the day after were NPR’s two biggest days ever for web traffic.

Anna Washenko