iHeartPodcasts Leads December Rankings with 148 Million Downloads

iHeartPodcasts maintained its dominance as the top podcast publisher in December, according to data from Podtrac. The network recorded 148 million downloads and streams across 827 active shows, reaching a unique U.S. audience of 27.9 million. The Walt Disney Company, which includes ABC News and ESPN podcasts, secured second place with 23.1 million downloads and 6.8 million unique listeners, while Vox Media ranked third with 17.2 million downloads and 5.5 million listeners.

The holiday season disrupted typical listening patterns, with only one publisher, This American Life, reporting a 1% increase in unique listeners. Despite the seasonal slowdown, iHeart’s Audience Network led U.S. sales networks with 316.2 million downloads and 61.2 million unique listeners. Acast followed with 21.2 million unique listeners, while Libsyn and NPR rounded out the top four with 20.3 million and 17.9 million listeners, respectively.

Globally, iHeart also dominated, with nearly 627.9 million streams, downloads, and video views in December. Acast ranked second with 406.3 million global streams and downloads, while Libsyn and Sonora Global Media trailed behind. NPR’s flagship podcast claimed the top spot among individual shows, surpassing The New York Times‘ morning news series, which fell to second place.

Podtrac’s data highlights the growing influence of podcast networks in the digital media landscape, with iHeart continuing to set the pace in both U.S. and global markets. The company’s success is bolstered by its extensive catalog and strategic partnerships, including its presence on YouTube, where its podcasts garnered 109 million views in December.