Toni & Ryan, the Aussie podcast winning over audiences worldwide, smashed a major milestone on Friday: five million downloads in five months.
The podcast, which Toni Lodge and Ryan Jon only launched in August last year, enjoyed its biggest month in February with over 1.3 million downloads. That number was likely helped by the pair’s social media following, with almost two million between them.
The podcast has proven a viral hit online too, with their Instagram Reels and TikTok videos featuring best bits from the show surpassing 30 million views in February and more than one billion views since the podcast’s first episode.
“’I’m really excited and just so happy,” Lodge said. “I never thought I’d get that many downloads or views online without a sex tape, so I’m glad we still have that up our sleeve.”
Jon said if someone had told him that the podcast would reach even one million listens in the first year, he likely wouldn’t have believed them.
“To have 1.3 million listens in the month of February alone is staggering,” Jon said. “The momentum just keeps increasing.
“The more people listen to the podcast, the more they are getting involved and sharing their stories with us and telling friends to listen, which makes the show even bigger and better.
“Considering it’s still just the two of us doing this after hours, we’re really proud.”
Toni Lodge & Ryan Jon
The pair met at ARN, where Jon now hosts workdays on KIIS FM Melbourne after an extended break from breakfast radio and Lodge was, until recently, a producer for the station’s former breakfast show Jase & PJ. Following three “awkwardly long” years of early starts, Lodge made the decision to quit and have a “solid crack” behind the microphone.
Toni & Ryan, who refer to each other as “just good friends”, launched the podcast on August 23 with an episode titled T-Pain and Tinder Bios after a series of videos recorded after hours in the KIIS FM Richmond studios went viral on TikTok and Instagram with almost 100 million views.
The podcast was quickly snapped up by ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia, and climbed official podcast charts in Australia and abroad – including Top 5 on Spotify’s Overall Chart and Top 5 on Apple Podcasts’ Comedy Chart.