Podcast listeners can’t get enough of the true crime podcast Dateline NBC as the podcast rose to its highest ranking yet in August. Podtrac says it was the second most listened-to podcast last month with episodes such as “The Summer of Manson” on the mind and myth of Charles Manson. Meantime its CBS rival true crime series 48 Hours also continued to rise. It debuted on the top 20 in July and then moved up another three to No. 17 in August.
But its The Daily that remains on top once again. Even though summer is traditionally a slow time for news, that was not the case in August and podcasts in the category benefited. The CNN daily news podcast 5 Things had the biggest jump in the top 20, advancing four to No. 12. And NPR’s morning news podcast Up First rose three to No. 3.
No one publisher dominates the top 20. Podtrac says NPR had three shows in the top 20 last month and Wondery had two while no other publisher had more than one entry in the ranker.
Overall, Podtrac says the average unique monthly listeners in the U.S. for the top 20 publishers it measures jumped 13% between July and August. Total global downloads for the top 20 publishers ticked up seven percent month-to-month, although they were flat compared to a year ago.