The first Podcast Ranker data from 2024 has rolled in, with a new name in the top spot.
According to Triton Digital, Australians downloaded 90.3 million podcasts in January, up 33% from January 2023’s 67.8 million, and 11% from 81.2 million downloads in December 2023.
The Shameless podcast produced by Shameless Media was the podcast ranked highest for listeners for the month, with 516,000 listeners, up three places from December 2023. The most downloaded episode was Buckle up, it’s a big one, published on 17 January.
Rounding out the top three were ARN’s Casefile True Crime, and ABC’s Conversations.
Hamish & Andy dropped to fifth in January, although no new episodes were released during the month.
Summer sports podcasts performed well, with The ABC Tennis Podcast landing as the highest ranked new podcast, debuting at 61. LiSTNR’s The Grade Cricketer was up 20 spots to 29.
As radio shows returned to normal schedules from the Summer break, people returned to listening to the catch-up podcasts. The Kyle & Jackie O Show was up 12 places to number six, Ben Fordham Live up 33 places to 42, and The Marty Sheargold Show was up 89 places to 53.
The top three publishers by listeners in January were ARN/iHeart, LiSTNR, and ABC.
The Top Publishers category expanded from 15 to 20 publishers in January, with Clubby Sport at 19 and Equity Mates Media at 20 joining the highest ranked producer line-up for the first time.
Speaking about the company’s spot as top podcast publisher, ARN’s head of digital audio, Corey Layton, said: “What a way to start 2024! With both listening and advertising continuing to rise, it’s clear why podcasts are Australia’s fastest growing mass medium. As our exceptional lineup return, we’re gearing up with a few surprises in store for listeners and brands alike.”
Named top sales representative for January, SCA executive head LiSTNR podcasts, Grant Tothill, said “As LiSTNR continues to improve its ad-tech capability and first party data, now advertisers have more and more reasons to use podcast advertising to reach new audiences.”
See Also: Podcast Ranker reveals downloads surged 26% in 2023, with over 1 billion in total