Media and entertainment company Global’s hit daily podcast The News Agents has passed 10 million downloads since launching in August 2022.
The podcast is led by experienced journalists and presenters Emily Maitlis, Jon Sopel and Lewis Goodall, and was created by executive producer Dino Sofos under his audio production company Persephonica. Sofos is also behind a range of the BBC’s hit podcasts including Brexitcast and Americast which he discussed on an earlier episode with PodPod.
“I’ve launched podcasts before but none have connected with so many listeners as quickly as this,” said Sofos. “It’s clear that people want to consume news differently, and The News Agents is leading the way.”
In just three months, The News Agents has also amassed social media popularity with over 23 million views across TikTok, Instagram, and Twitter, having covered monumental moments in British political history including the Queen’s death and the appointment of three Prime Ministers.
The News Agents has been a close competitor to another hit current affairs podcast The Rest is Politics, which previously had a consistent Chartable streak as number one across podcasts in Great Britain on Apple Podcasts for three consecutive weeks.
Alastair Campbell, who co-hosts The Rest is Politics alongside Rory Stewart, called The News Agents “the runner-ups” in an earlier episode of PodPod but attributed the close competition to the presenters’ skills as journalists.
“I couldn’t be more thrilled with how The News Agents has been received by the audience,” said Goodall. “Across our podcast and video output, it shows what huge appetite there is for political news told in new and different ways. And this is just the start.”
