Podcast publisher iHeartRadio edged out NPR to become the top podcast distributor in July with 24.6 million listeners in July, Podtrac’s monthly industry analysis found.
Podtrac tracks the top 20 podcast publishers each month by audience size. July saw iHeartRadio’s audience increase slightly — from 24.5 million listens in June — but it surpassed competing publishers like NPR, which counted roughly 24 million listeners.
“Eight of the top 20 publishers saw an increase in U.S. monthly audience in July over June, and 13 of the top 20 publishers saw positive growth in their Global Download numbers from June to July,” Podtrac noted in its report.
ESPN and ABC’s podcast divisions saw the highest increase in its monthly audience, up 38% from the prior month with the addition of ABC to the network.
Several podcast publishers climbed in the rankings compared to June’s listing, including Serial Productions (co-listed with This American Life), which moved up three spots from No. 14 in June to No. 11 in July with 5.4 million listeners. WarnerMedia also moved up in the rankings two spots, landing at No. 9 with roughly 6 million listeners.
Overall the average unique U.S. monthly audience of podcast consumers stayed flat month-over-month — but there were 22% more listeners compared to July 2019, Podtrac noted. Globally, unique streaming and download counts for the top 10 podcast publishers increased 72% annually.
17 TV Shows Based on Podcasts Ranked, From 'Homecoming' to '2 Dope Queens' (Photos)
"Desus & Mero" is going strong with its third season and "The Shrink Next Door" premiered just last month. Here are other TV shows based on successful podcasts, with their Metacritic ranking (as of December 3, 2021).
Epix, IFC, Matt Sayles/Netflix, Showtime
"Up and Vanished" (2018 - )
Metacritic score: n/a
Payne Lindsey's true-crime podcast first became a successful two-part special on Oxygen, exploring the disappearance of Georgia schoolteacher Tara Grinstead. And then it became a series, with Payne and his team exploring a new cold case in each episode.
Oxygen
Song Exploder (2020 - )
Metacritic score: n/a
Based on the acclaimed podcast of the same name, the Netflix docu-series takes a look at how the world's greatest musicians have created their songs, while exploring their various creative processes and inspirations.
Matt Sayles/Netflix
Equinox (2020 - )
Metacritic score: n/a
Based on the Danish podcast "Equinox 1985," this Netflix thriller follows a young woman investigating the suspicious circumstances surrounding the disappearance of a group of kids, one of whom was her sister.
Tine Harden/Netflix
Slow Burn (2020 - )
Metacritic score: n/a
The true-crime podcast hosted by Leon Neyfakh is now a docuseries on EPIX. Similar to the podcast, Neyfakh dissects historical figures and events and outlines how the lesser-known subplots behind the stories have changed history.
Epix
"Alex Inc." (2018)
Metacritic score: 49
Zach Braff plays a journalist who quits his job to start his own podcast business -- in a short-lived ABC sitcom very loosely based on Alex Blumberg's "StartUp" podcast about the founding of his own Gimlet Media podcast network.
ABC
"StarTalk" (2015 - )
Metacritic score: 55
Astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson adapted his hit podcast into a long-running talk show on NatGeo, with a wide variety of guests beyond the science (and even sci-fi) field.
National Geographic
"Dirty John" (2018 - )
Metacritic score: 58
Connie Britton and Eric Bana starred in the first season of this true-crime anthology series based on the Wondery podcast about love gone wrong. The second season starred an ill-fated coupled played by Amanda Peet and Christian Slater.
USA
"Lore" (2017 - 18)
Metacritic score: 60
Aaron Mahnke's podcast exploring the true histories behind horror legends like werewolves and vampires inspired an anthology series that blended dramatic scenes, animation and narration and ran for two seasons on Amazon.
Amazon Prime
"The Shrink Next Door" (2021 - )
Metacritic score: 61
The dark comedy series based n the podcast of the same name premiered November 12 on Apple TV+ and follows the dysfunctional and increasingly manipulative relationship between celebrity psychiatrist Dr. Isaac "Ike" Herschkopf and his longtime patient Martin "Marty" Markowitz.
Apple TV+
"Limetown" (2019)
Metacritic score: 62
Jessica Biel starred in this Facebook Watch series that told the fictional story of the disappearance of 300 people at a Tennessee neuroscience facility. However, the show failed to capture the creepy immersiveness of the original podcast and lasted only one season.
Facebook
"The Ricky Gervais Show" (2010 - 12)
Metacritic score: 62
The creator of "The Office" adapted his radio show (with Stephen Merchant and Karl Pilkington) into a podcast, and then into an animated HBO series that made its potty-humor jokes literal.
HBO
"Comedy Bang! Bang!" (2012 - 16)
Metacritic score: 64
Scott Aukerman adapted his comedy podcast into a parody talk show that ran for five seasons on IFC.
IFC
"The Case Against Adnan Syed (2019)
Metacritic score: 66
The four-part HBO documentary series follows the 1999 disappearance and murder of 18-year-old high school student Hae Min Lee and the conviction of her ex-boyfriend, Adnan Syed, which was a case that was covered in the widely popular investigative journalism podcast, "Serial."
St. Martin's Press
"Maron" (2013 - 16)
Metacritic score: 71
The sitcom, which was based on the comedian's podcast, stars Marc Maron as a fictionalized version of himself, as he navigates life, trying to balance all his relationships.
IFC
"Homecoming" (2018-)
Metacritic score: 75
Julia Roberts starred in the first season of this show, based on Gimlet's fictional podcast about a secret government program to transition U.S. war veterans back to civilian life.
Showtime
"Desus & Mero" (2019 - )
Metacritic score: 78
Bronx natives Desus Nice and The Kid Mero star in Showtime's first ever talk show, which was adapted from their comedy entertainment podcast "Desus vs. Mero."
Amazon Prime
"2 Dope Queens" (2018 - 19)
Metacritic score: 87
"Daily Show" alum Jessica Williams and Phoebe Robinson adapted their hit comedy podcast into an HBO series that hits a broad range of topics.
HBO
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A growing number of TV shows have been inspired by audio hits
"Desus & Mero" is going strong with its third season and "The Shrink Next Door" premiered just last month. Here are other TV shows based on successful podcasts, with their Metacritic ranking (as of December 3, 2021).
Epix, IFC, Matt Sayles/Netflix, Showtime
Oxygen
