Podcast downloads show gains (Podtrac) and RAIN Remix of May Top Publishers ranker

In Podtrac’s Top Podcast Publishers monthly ranker for May we learn that the metrics for download growth were on a slight upswing (1%) month-over-month, and a sharper growth of 32% year-over-year.

Here are the key points from Podtrac:

  • US UMA increased for 5 of the Top 20 publishers in May 2022 over April 2022.
  • The average US Unique Monthly Audience for the Top 20 publishers was down 4% month-over-month and up 11% over April 2021.
  • Total Global Downloads for the Top 20 were up 1% month-over-month and up 32% year-over-year.

Podtrac measures all its clients for this monthly ranker; accordingly, major networks like SXM Media do not appear. The May list shows iHeartRadio and NPR continuing their seemingly inevitable #1 and #2 positioning:

 

RAIN Remix

The RAIN Remix of this report rearranges the listing by ranking the key metrics (audience size, and number of downloads) per active show on average for each publisher. This creates a different view from the original, which ranks networks by their entire portfolios, big or small. The remix conveys an understanding of portfolio strategy.

The two measurements Podtrac uses for this monthly ranker are U.S. Unique Monthly Audience and Global Downloads & Streams. We remix the ranking twice, one remix for each metric.

The first RAIN Remix below shows the top 20 list sorted by average monthly audience per show for each publisher.

The original ranking numbers (on the left) identify each publisher to see quickly the extent to which the list is shuffled into a new order. The difference is dramatic: iHeartRadio moves from #1 to #16, and This American Life moves from #19 to #1.

In our view there is no good or bad in the remix. Different publishers have different business strategies in this regard, and they can range from piling their resources into many shows or few shows. Either way, they have landed on an elite list.

The second RAIN Remix re-sorts the original by average streams/downloads (e.g. plays) per show. The result is a light shuffle of the first remix. New York Times wins the #1 spot in this Remix, with over 13-million average streams/downloads per show across its nine-show network.

 

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Brad Hill