Triton Digital launches next evolution of U.S. Podcast Ranker

Triton Digital has released the next evolution of its U.S. Podcast Ranker, powered by new audience intelligence features, including a rundown of the Top 200 Podcasts for reaching audience segments based on socioeconomics, behaviours, and purchase intent.

Leveraging Demos+, an extension of Triton Podcast Metrics measurement service, features include Demos+ Top Podcasts (overindexing for audience demographics and consumer purchase intent and the Demos+ Category Ranker (audience profiles by podcast genre), Top 10 Podcasts by Unique Audience, Top Categories by Reach, Top Podcasts by Downloads, and Genre audience trends (outlining consumer intent).

Triton – which is billing the combined ranker as “a first-to-market blend of download and survey data” – says the new insights reframe the advertiser approach to podcasting, giving weight to the strategy that it’s not just about the biggest shows, but the right shows for the right audience. The newly-published data is sourced from the Demos+ survey and audience profiles collected and assembled in collaboration with Signal Hill Insights.

Each podcast in the Top 200 is based on the number of survey respondents who reported listening to or watching a specific show in the past 30 days. Triton says the approach delivers the largest available full-market view of true listener reach.

“As the largest publicly available ranker in the U.S. the Top 200 better reflects the diversity of content and audiences in podcasting,” the company said in an announcement Tuesday. “Potent opportunities in podcast advertising extend well beyond the Top 50 hit shows — in fact, focusing spend on just the Top 50 podcasts limits total possible reach to only 49% of all monthly podcast consumers. However, investing across podcasts outside the Top 50 unlocks the ability to reach the vast majority (84%) of the monthly podcast audience who indicate consuming at least one podcast somewhere beyond the Top 50 in the past month. This demonstrates why a broader view matters: the extended ranker along with the demographic and consumer profiles of Demos+ give advertisers more options to connect with diverse and often underserved audiences that live further out on the long tail of podcast consumption.”

The Demos+ survey is conducted throughout each quarter, which Triton says allows for a consistent snapshot of recent listening behaviour by combining the opt-in, download-based ranker reflecting listening frequency, and survey-based measurement capturing reach across the entire industry.

“We built Demos+ to surface the types of insights advertisers need, but haven’t had consistent access to in audio,” said Daryl Battaglia, SVP, Measurement Products & Strategy, Triton Digital. “It’s about who listeners are, what motivates them, and why they tune in. That level of context drives better decisions, smarter investments, and more inclusive planning across the board.”

Triton says the new planning tools will be published and updated on a quarterly basis, with the company also maintaining its existing monthly download ranker.

Q2 2025 Ranker Insights

Demos+ Ranker Highlights

(Based on U.S. survey responses — reflects podcasts across the entire market, not just those measured by Triton)

• Top 10 Podcasts by Unique Audience in Q2:

1. The Joe Rogan Experience [Joe Rogan]
2. The Daily [The New York Times]
3. Crime Junkie [audiochuck]
4. Call Her Daddy [SiriusXM Podcasts]
5. SmartLess [SiriusXM Podcasts]
6. This Past Weekend w/ Theo Von [Theo Von]
7. Dateline NBC [NBC News]
8. Stuff You Should Know [iHeart Audience Network]
9. This American Life [NPR]
10. The Breakfast Club [iHeart Audience Network]

• Top 3 Podcast Categories by Reach:

1. Comedy (42.1%)
2. News (27.3%)
3. Society & Culture (23.4%)

Download Ranker Highlights

(Based on server-side measurement from July — includes only sales networks directly measured by Triton Digital)

• Top Sales Networks by Average Weekly Downloads:

1. iHeart Audience Network
2. NPR
3. Audacy Podcast Network

• Top Podcasts by Average Weekly Downloads:

1. NPR News Now [NPR]
2. Up First from NPR [NPR]
3. Stuff You Should Know [iHeart Audience Network]

View the full Q2 2025 U.S. Podcast Ranker, here.