11 Podcast Stats Worth Knowing

If you are like me, it is easy to become overwhelmed as the podcast data flows like water from a hose in various news articles, tweets and sessions at the recent Podcast Movement conference.

I sorted through some key numbers that resonated with me.

1 Million

“Conan O’Brien Needs a Friend” podcast generates one million downloads per episode. That’s considerably better than the 300,000 viewers of his TV show on TBS. (NY Times)

300,000

That’s the average number of podcast downloads for Rachel Maddow’s nightly MSNBC TV Show. Time-shifted podcast content is often discounted by TV and radio broadcasters. Rachel’s TV show averages about 2.5 million viewers. Her podcast adds as many as 300,000 listeners/downloads, which, if my math is right, is an additional 12% to her show’s circulation. Anyone for a 12% boost? (NBC’s Steve Lickteig speaking at Jacobs Media session at Podcast Movement)

Two Million

Pod Save America downloads per episode (Variety)

250,000

Number of downloads per episode of the venerable Jordan Harbinger Show podcast. (NY Times)

54%