Nearly two-thirds (63%) of Black monthly podcast listeners say it is important to them that a show include Black stories and perspectives, and 62% say that they look for “unfiltered” conversations that cannot be found elsewhere. Edison Research’s most recent Black Podcast Listener Report also shows that half of African American listeners say it’s important that a show has a Black host. That helps to explain Edison’s just-released ranking of top podcasts among Black listeners. Of the shows in the top ten, six are led by Black hosts.
While Edison Podcast Metrics reports The Joe Rogan Experience is No. 1 among weekly Black listeners aged 13 and older – just as it is with the market overall – the Charlamagne Tha God-led The Breakfast Club podcast ranks second. It is the on-demand version of the iHeartMedia morning radio show, which airs on stations in nearly 100 cities across the U.S.
Other Black-led podcasts in the top ten include Interval Presents’ Drink Champs, hosted by rapper-turned show host N.O.R.E. and Miami hip-hop pioneer DJ EFN; Barstool Sports’ Million Dollaz Worth of Game, hosted by rapper/actor GillieDaKing and social media influencer and disruptor @Wallo267; the indie series The Joe Budden Podcast; an on-demand version of the syndicated radio show The Steve Harvey Morning Show; and ShxtsNGigs, hosted by best friends James Duncan and Fuhad Dawodu.
While some other shows make both lists, including Crime Junkie, The Daily, and Dateline NBC, some shows in the overall top ten fail to reach the top among Black listeners, such as hit shows like SmartLess, This American Life and Stuff You Should Know.
Unlike other show rankings from Podtrac or Triton Digital built from download data, Edison’s Podcast Metrics is based on consumer recall. It asks survey participants which shows they listened to in the past week. The latest Edison Podcast Metrics list is derived from data collected continuously between Oct. 9 and Dec. 23, 2023, from surveying 5,356 weekly podcast listeners aged 13 and older. The relative audience size of each podcast is then calculated and expressed as the percentage of weekly podcast listeners reached by that show.
According to Edison Research’s Infinite Dial 2023, 45% of Black Americans in the U.S. age 12+ have listened to podcasts in the last month, and 28% have listened in the past week.
The Black Podcast Listener Report released last year found the race of the host helps most when it comes to sales. The report shows Black listeners who have listened to a podcast hosted by a Black host in the last month were more likely to take action after hearing a podcast ad than those who’ve never listened to a podcast hosted by Black talent. That includes 53% that bought a product or service or 51% who used a promo/discount code. Edison says Black-hosted podcasts also drive lifts down the purchase funnel as Black monthly podcast listeners are more likely to consider, trust, recommend and purchase a brand if they heard an ad for a brand on a podcast with Black hosts.
The Black Podcast Listener Report 2.0 was based on data from 2,500 online interviews conducted in September among Black adults aged 18 and older. Read more findings from the report HERE.