Triton Q4: True Crime, Sports Surge As Podcast Listening Closed 2025 Strong.

Triton Digital’s quarterly podcast deep dive shows listening held steady through the holidays, but the fourth quarter brought some shifts beneath the surface, with some genres surging, sports maintaining momentum, and new shows breaking into its top 50.

The Q4 U.S. Podcast Ranker is the third release in Triton’s expanded quarterly reporting series that blends audience reach and behavioral data developed in collaboration with Signal Hill Insights. At the top line, stability ruled at year-end. Comedy remained the most listened-to category, capturing 40.9% reach in Q4, virtually unchanged from Q3. News followed at 26.7%, with Society & Culture at 23%, as the three largest genres held their positions.

But the most notable movement came from long-form storytelling categories. True crime posted a 23% quarter-over-quarter increase in reach, rising to 17.2%. History and fiction each jumped 30% vs. Q3. Triton says the gains reflect audiences leaning into immersive content during holiday downtime and travel — a signal that extended listening windows may create deeper advertising opportunities.

Sports also kept its late-year momentum. With the NFL playoff race underway, college football championships decided, and the NBA season tipping off, several sports titles saw sharp climbs. “The Pat McAfee Show” moved up 18 spots to No. 15. “Nightcap” delivered one of the quarter’s biggest leaps, surging 113 spots to break into the Top 50 at No. 49. “The Dale Jr. Download,” “Fantasy Football Today,” and “Jim Cornette Experience” all logged major gains as well.

Beyond sports, several established titles made decisive moves into the top 50 in Triton’s survey-based ranker, which reflects full-market listening regardless of publisher opt-in. “Fresh Air” climbed 49 spots to No. 41. “Last Podcast On The Left” jumped 46 spots to No. 47. “Not Gonna Lie with Kylie Kelce” rose 41 spots to No. 34. “Shawn Ryan Show” advanced 38 spots to No. 27, and “The Ramsey Show” gained 36 spots to No. 25. Meanwhile, “Good Hang with Amy Poehler” continued its steady ascent, moving from No. 70 at the ranker’s launch in Q2 to No. 36 in Q4.

“Each quarter, Triton Digital’s Ranker tells a clearer story about how podcast audiences are evolving — and why audio deserves a central role in modern media plans,” Triton Senior VP Daryl Battaglia said.

Triton also spotlighted distinct listening patterns among multicultural and intent-based audiences. Black listeners indexed higher for music, sports and religion & spirituality programming, while Hispanic listeners showed strong affinity for fiction, education and kids & family content. Travel and purchase intent segments revealed predictable but actionable patterns as well, with business and leisure travelers gravitating toward business, sports, science and news programming, and purchase-oriented listeners showing heavier engagement across kids & family, business, music, sports and comedy.

On the download side — based on server-side measurement from the client sales networks that Triton directly tracks — the iHeart Audience Network led average weekly downloads in Q4, followed by the Audacy Podcast Network and Audioboom. Among individual shows, “Stuff You Should Know” ranked No. 1 by average weekly downloads, followed by “48 Hours” and “My Favorite Murder.” The ranking only includes shows published by Triton’s subscribers.

“Podcasting has become appointment media in moments that matter, from sports seasons and cultural milestones to end-of-year reflection and planning,” Battaglia said. “What we’ve seen from Q4 is not just seasonal listening — it’s sustained, intentional engagement tied to real-world behaviors. These insights give marketers a sharper lens into how and when podcast audiences are most receptive, and where smart investments can drive meaningful results in 2026.”

Read Triton Digital’s full Q4 2025 U.S. Podcast Ranker HERE.