Triton Digital has released its May Podcast Ranker. It showed strong finishes for the likes of Pod Save America and Dan Bongino.
What We Know: News podcasts remained important in the Top Podcasts By Weekly Average Downloads category. Pod Save America fell one place to second behind Stuff You Should Know. The Dan Bongino Show also fell one spot to fourth. The Bulwark Podcast increased its position to sixth, while the Global News Podcast fell to seventh. The Charlie Kirk Show fell out of the top 10, finishing May in 12th. Other news/talk shows in the top 20 included Armstrong & Getty (15th), The Clay Travis & Buck Sexton Show (17th), and Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar (18th). Making its first appearance in the top 20 was Hey Jonas!, the podcast hosted by the Jonas Brothers.
What the Numbers Show:
| Rank | Podcast | Network | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Stuff You Should Know | iHeart Audience Network | ▲ 1 |
| 2 | Pod Save America | Audioboom | ▼ 1 |
| 3 | My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark | iHeart Audience Network | ▲ 1 |
| 4 | The Dan Bongino Show | Cumulus Podcast Network | ▼ 1 |
| 5 | On Purpose with Jay Shetty | iHeart Audience Network | ▲ 1 |
| 6 | The Bulwark Podcast | Audioboom | ▲ 1 |
| 7 | Global News Podcast | BBC | ▼ 2 |
| 8 | Love Trapped | iHeart Audience Network | ▲ 8 |
| 9 | The Bobby Bones Show | iHeart Audience Network | – |
| 10 | The Breakfast Club | iHeart Audience Network | – |
| 11 | Marketplace | American Public Media Group | ▲ 1 |
| 12 | The Charlie Kirk Show | Salem Podcast Network | ▼ 4 |
| 13 | Smosh Reads Reddit Stories | Audioboom | ▲ 4 |
| 14 | Behind the Bastards | iHeart Audience Network | ▲ 5 |
| 15 | Armstrong & Getty On Demand | iHeart Audience Network | ▼ 2 |
| 16 | Betrayal Weekly | iHeart Audience Network | ▼ 5 |
| 17 | The Clay Travis and Buck Sexton Show | iHeart Audience Network | ▼ 2 |
| 18 | Breaking Points with Krystal and Saagar | iHeart Audience Network | ▼ 4 |
| 19 | The Dan Patrick Show | iHeart Audience Network | ▲ 1 |
| 20 | Hey Jonas! | iHeart Audience Network | – |
What Remains Unclear: What led to the increase in the Jonas Brothers podcast to vault into the top 20. It is also unclear what led to a slight tumble for The Charlie Kirk Show.
What It Means: While May marked a decline in the cable news ratings, that drop wasn’t as prominent in the podcast genre. Strong finishes from several brands highlight how important the format is to the podcasting space.
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Garrett Searight is Barrett Media’s News Editor, which includes writing daily news stories, features, and opinion columns. He joined Barrett Media in 2022 after a decade leading several radio brands in several formats, as well as a 5-year stint working in local television. In addition to his work with Barrett Media, he is a radio and TV play-by-play broadcaster. Reach out to him at Garrett@BarrettMedia.com.
