On Friday, YouTube announced that, for the first time, it will be releasing its top 100 podcast chart as the streaming platform continues to drive users towards podcast discoverability. The U.S.-only chart will feature what YouTube defines as a podcast by the creator of the content in the upload process and will not include playlists that contain only clips or Shorts.
Currently, podcasts on YouTube have more than one billion monthly active viewers, according to Edison Research, and it is the most frequently used service for listening to podcasts in the United States. According to a release, the weekly top podcast chart recognizes and celebrates top podcasters who are redefining the next era of entertainment with engaging, influential, culture-defining shows across a variety of genres like News, Sports, Comedy, and True Crime.
Furthermore, the chart will be updated on Wednesdays with rankings shown according to watch time.
In the first chart released by YouTube, five sports podcasts were ranked in the top 50 of the newly released chart. Notably, Club Shay Shay featuring Shannon Sharpe ranked in as the only sports podcast on YouTube in the top ten, ranking at number seven on the list. Currently, Club Shay Shay’s contract with The Volume is up, and the former NFL tight end has received multiple offers. Moreover, Front Office Sports reported that Sharpe is looking to sign a deal that would exceed $100 million dollars.
Additionally, The Pat McAfee Show was the second-highest-ranked podcast on YouTube’s new chart, ranking at number twelve. Meanwhile, Gil’s Arena, hosted by former NBA players Gilbert Arenas, Josiah Johnson, Brandon Jennings, Kenyon Martin, Lexie Brown, and Rashad McCants, finished at number twenty. Shannon Sharpe’s other podcast venture, Nightcap, featuring former NFL wide receiver Chad Ochocinco, ranked in at number twenty-eight. Lastly, Barstool Sports’ top show The Yak finished at number thirty-six on the chart.
Previously, Spotify and Apple have had their own charts to track traffic for podcasts on their platforms.
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