Readers love rankers. We love lists of things in descending (or ascending) order that allow us to judge the particular items on some sort of qualitative or quantitative measure. Some rankers, like The 25 Best Beaches in the U.S.A are based on subjective qualities. Others are created purely for entertainment, a market that BuzzFeed cornered nicely. And the most controversial rankers are a mix of data and subjective measures, with the college football ranking system being the best (or worst) example.
The point being, readers must understand what is being measured to understand what the ranker is saying.
The Edison Podcast Metrics ranker below is based on survey research, meaning Edison Research surveys listeners and asks them to report, via an online listening diary, what podcasts they consume, along with other data as well. There is no list of shows or networks for the respondents to choose from; the respondents simply record what they are listening to. The data for the ranker below was collected during every day in the months of April, May and June of this year. The data was collected from 5,352 weekly podcast listeners in the U.S. age 13+. Unlike download counts, which require companies to opt-in for measurement and don’t necessarily connect to actual listening, Edison Podcast Metrics is a complete ranker of weekly reach for the whole podcasting universe.
The ranker below ranks podcasts in descending order based on the number of weekly podcast listeners age 13+ in the U.S. that listen to the show.
With that in mind, we announce the Top 50 Podcasts that reach the most people age 13+ in the U.S. for Q2 2023:
Among the top-ranking shows you will see the consistent number one The Joe Rogan Experience, along with other Top 10 regulars. New to the Top 50 this quarter is Bad Friends, a comedy podcast with hosts Andrew Santino and Bobby Lee. Take a look to see if some of your favorite shows are here, or perhaps to find a new show to try.
The Kids Podcast Listener Report from Edison Research and Kids Listen, with sponsors American Public Media, Disney Podcasts, Tumble Media, and Wondery debuted last week. The study is packed with brand new findings, and you can catch the replay of the webinar or download the study here. The videos of qualitative interviews with podcast listeners age 6-12 are well worth a few minutes of your time.
We are excited to be welcomed to the main stage once again by Podcast Movement for the world’s largest gathering of podcasters! This year, Edison Research Senior Director of Research Gabriel Soto will take attendees on a podcast journey across multiple generations during his keynote address Tuesday morning. Later that day, you can catch Edison Research VP Megan Lazovick at the panel discussion Shattering Ceilings: A Truth or Dare Session with Podcasting’s Inspiring Women at 3:15pm. Click here to register for Podcast Movement 2023.
