September 2026 Top Podcast Publishers
Summary
Spotify holds #1 in both audio reach (69.0M, +6%) and downloads, views, & plays per month (272.3M), staying the top publisher across both boards.
Acast moved up one place to #2 (42.7M) in audio reach with a 6% increase, overtaking SXM Media, which slipped to #3 (39.0M) on an 8% decline.
iHeartMedia posted the strongest audio reach growth of any top publisher, up 28% to #4 (34.9M).
Daylight Media jumped two places in downloads, views & plays per month to #5 (194.3M) with a 25% increase.
We've made two major updates to our ranker.
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1
Spotify "Plays" are the new standard for consumption
Podscribe has adopted Spotify's new podcast plays standard, which counts a play only after 30 seconds of watching or listening. Read more →
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2
Prioritizing YouTube engaged views instead of the public views everywhere
When YouTube Analytics is connected, we will report on the exact engaged view count. For shows that are not connected, we will estimate the engaged view at a 39% rate to the public view count. Read more →
Top Publishers by Audio Reach
Ranked by the estimated total audience size across all shows from a publisher.
| Rank | Publisher | # of Shows | Audio | Dls., Views & Plays / Mo. | Ad Load | % Ads Host Read | Top Advertisers |
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Top Publishers by Downloads & Views per Month
Ranked by the total RSS downloads and video views across YouTube, Rumble, and Spotify Video in the last 30 days.
| Rank | Publisher | # of Shows | Audio | Dls., Views & Plays / Mo. | Ad Load | % Ads Host Read | Top Advertisers |
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*Data captured from September 1st - September 30th, 2026.
About Podscribe’s Ranker
The Podscribe Ranker is the industry's most comprehensive podcast ranker, offering a complete view of show, publisher and advertiser performance. Unlike traditional rankers, we go beyond RSS data—tracking podcast downloads, YouTube views, Spotify Video, and more—to reflect how audiences consume podcasts today.
We also include every known show and publisher in the rankings, to always ensure a complete industry view.
Rather than a static snapshot, Podscribe provides live growth trends, helping buyers and publishers spot rising shows early. With cross-platform tracking and direct data from major shows, it delivers the most accurate rankings available, even for podcasts without a prefix.
*Wondery data is computed solely from public data such as Apple & Spotify ratings, not direct download data.
