Triton Ranker: iHeart Audience Network Ends 2025 Atop U.S. Podcast Ranker.

Triton Digital says 2025 ended where its U.S. rankings began, with the iHeart Audience Network remaining in the top spot last month, with 62.6 million average weekly downloads in the U.S. The previous month brought advancement for most top 10 publishers with the exit of NPR from the ranker. In December, things settled down with far less change. The only movement was a swap between fifth-place BBC and sixth-ranked Salem Podcast Network. But with the holiday season, most publishers did see download numbers soften slightly.

Triton says the Audacy Podcast Network ranked second last month with 12.8 million average weekly downloads. It was followed by Audioboom at No. 3 with 11.3 million.

Triton’s monthly reports include only publishers that opt-in to the measurement program and reflect the period of Dec. 1-28.

Unlike Triton’s quarterly updates that include publishers that aren’t subscribers, the monthly updates rely on server-side data. While not a complete view of the industry, they do offer some insight into where things are heading.

In December, Triton says iHeart’s “Stuff You Should Know” remained No. 1 on its ranker. It was followed Audacy Podcast Network’s “48 Hours,” which moved up in front of Salem Podcast Network’s “The Charlie Kirk Show.” The top five was rounded out by “My Favorite Murder” and “On Purpose with Jay Shetty.”

Debuting shows for December included the BBC’s “You're Dead to Me” and the “Bloomberg Businessweek” podcast, which is part of the iHeart Audience Network.

The December update is a stripped down, mid-quarter report from Triton Digital, which is now releasing expanded quarterly updates that not only feature a ranking of the top 200 shows but also new insights by show, genre, and audience profile. They also include more than 40 demographic and purchase intent segments sourced from the Demos+ survey and audience profiles collected and assembled by Triton in collaboration with Signal Hill Insights.

The latest quarterly ranking shows “The Joe Rogan Experience” remained the most listened-to podcast during the third quarter, followed by The New York Times’ “The Daily,” Audiochuck’s “Crime Junkie” and SiriusXM’s “Call Her Daddy.”

The latest release for December features only server-side measurement data from companies that have opted-in to Triton rankings. Download Triton Digital’s latest U.S. Podcast Ranker HERE.