True crime podcast Crime Junkie is still the number one most popular podcast by weekly average listeners in the US, according to Triton Digital’s podcast ranker for June.
The audio technology and advertising company published its monthly US rankings yesterday, covering a reporting period from 29 May to 2 July. The data is derived from Triton’s Podcast Metrics measurement service which calculates top podcasts by weekly average downloads and weekly average users.
True-crime podcast Dateline NBC also remained second place, followed by NPR’s daily news podcast Up First, while Wondery’s true crime podcast Morbid climbed up one spot to fourth place, switching with NPR’s short form news podcast NPR News Now. Including the shows already mentioned, eight out of the top 10 most downloaded shows in the US at the moment are either true-crime or daily news, with the remaining being The Ben Shapiro Show, The Dan Bongino Show, and My Favourite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark.
The ranker also measures podcasts by weekly average downloads, which saw the same shows in the top spots. NPR News Now was the highest-ranked by this metric, however, thanks to its hourly release schedule.
"It's no surprise that True Crime takes the lead again in our June ranker - in the world of podcasting, true crime is an enduring force," said Triton Digital senior vice president Sharon Taylor. "Even several years later, we are continuing to see the impact of Serial, one of the podcasts that made this genre so popular.
"While true crime's appeal extends to various mediums, audio truly captivates listeners, immersing the audience and providing the kind of depth you cannot get in a typical two-hour video documentary, for example. Daily news podcasts have long been popular as well, and are a strategic channel for news publishers who want to broaden their reach and tap into new audiences to increase revenue opportunities."
In the US, news podcasts which attempt to replicate outspoken radio talk shows in on-demand formats, such as The Ben Shapiro Show, tend to be very popular, as are news round-ups such as Up First and deep dives like The Daily, according to Reuters’ Digital News Report 2023. Consumption of news podcasts in the US (19%) is also much higher than in European countries like France (9%) and the UK (8%).
“This difference reflects the vibrancy and range of news podcast production and monetisation in the United States, which in turn has driven public awareness and strong consumption,” said journalist and digital media strategist Nic Newman in the Reuter’s Digital News Report 2023.
In addition to ranking the top shows in the US, the Triton Digital Ranker also shows which sales network is most popular according to weekly average downloads, which once again went to the SiriusXM Podcast Network. The network has 54.1 million average weekly downloads and over 500 active podcasts.
On the list, SiriusXM is followed by Amazon company Wondery which now has 34.4 million average weekly downloads and 307 active podcasts. This is a 23% increase in average weekly downloads for Wondery year on year, having also increased its number of active podcasts by 104. Other companies that are within the top five and following Wondery are NPR, Audacy Podcast Network, and Cumulus Podcast Network, respectively.
