ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia sees record increase in weekly downloads

ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia has released new podcast listener data for April with podcast technology provider Megaphone, showing 91% growth in weekly downloads year-on-year across the platform.

The release of data comes as ARN’s iHeartPodcast Network Australia has been named Australia’s #1 podcast publisher – holding the #1, #2, #4, and #5 most popular podcasts in the country - April data released from the Australian Podcast Ranker shows.

Total podcast downloads from Podcast Ranker participating publishers were 48.2m in April 2021. That is up significantly from 33.8m in April 2020. Month-on-month though the number is down slightly from 50m in March this year, the biggest month ever for downloads.

Audioboom’s Casefile, which is part of the iHeartPodcast Network, remain in the #1 position with Stuff You Should Know at #2 on the Australian Podcast Ranker. The Kyle & Jackie O Show are #4 and Life Uncut has moved up to #5.

April was a record high month for average weekly downloads on the iHeartPodcast Network with record high downloads also seen in Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia.

All podcast categories have seen growth in downloads or remained steady in April. The Entertainment & Lifestyle category remains the most popular with 33% year-on-year (YOY) growth, True Crime is up 152% YOY, and Health is up 34% YOY. Society & Culture is the fastest growing category on the platform with 252% growth since July 2020.

Speaking about the results, ARN’s head of digital audio, Corey Layton said, “The iHeartPodcast Network has built great momentum since launch last year. Our commitment to delivering the most compelling local and global content continues to fuel exceptional audience grow across all our podcast categories. We will continue to expand and diversify content across the platform to keep our audiences engaged and further strengthen our commercial partnership opportunities across our market-leading audio offering.”