Three quarters of podcast publishers measured by Podtrac posted month-to-month increases in downloads during May. The ranking is once again led by iHeartRadio, which had a total reach of more than 29 million podcast listeners during May, an eight percent increase, and downloads and streams that topped 268 million, a seven percent month-to-month gain. It was the largest download and streams number for iHeart so far.
NPR remained in second place with a two percent increase in its unique U.S. monthly audience, which added up to nearly 21 million. The New York Times saw a one percent increase as it held onto third place. No. 4 Barstool Sports was up six percent month-to-month with its reach totaling nearly 9 million. And Wondery rounded out the top five, with a four percent increase in its unique audience.
The top ten largely remained the same in May compared to April. The only change was the Cumulus Podcast Network powered by a seven percent increase in its monthly audience, jumped ahead of WarnerMedia, as its reach slipped two percent.
Fourteen of the top 20 podcast publishers measured by Podtrac had month-to-month increases in their U.S. monthly audience during May. Among the top 20, downloads were up an average of four percent between April and May. And downloads were up one percent last month compared to a year ago.
Podtrac also reports that among the top 20 publishers, their U.S. monthly audience during May was also up an average of three percent between April and May with a one percent gain over May 2020.