Podtrac’s latest US podcast publisher rankings for November 2025 show a notable month-on-month and year-over-year decline across the board. All of the top ten publishers posted significantly lower numbers compared to October—a common seasonal dip tied to the Thanksgiving holiday—but the year-over-year decline suggests a larger trend.
Leaders like iHeartMedia, Wondery, and NPR remain dominant in the rankings, but even they experienced download decreases. For some networks, the drop exceeded 10%, raising questions about listener fatigue, content saturation, or shifts toward video-first consumption models.
While Podtrac did not attribute a single cause, the decline may reflect broader media consumption trends heading into 2026. Still, certain publishers saw pockets of growth in unique monthly audience or international performance, softening the overall downturn.
These monthly stats, drawn from participating networks using Podtrac’s measurement, serve as key performance indicators for advertisers and creators. The latest numbers underscore the importance of seasonal strategy, platform diversification, and format adaptation to maintain growth in a competitive audio landscape.
