First one billion download podcast was achieved by iHeartPodcast Network’s Stuff You Should Know. Hosted by Josh Clark and Chuck Bryant in collaboration with HowStuffWorks, this month their podcast surpassed one billion downloads, making it the first-ever podcast to achieve this milestone. Launched in April 2008, the podcast has continuously educated listeners on a variety of topics in science, history, pop culture, urban legends, conspiracy theories and more. With over 1,000 episodes, a number of sold-out live events, a television season, and a new, streamlined version of the podcast titled Short Stuff, the show has gathered a loyal global following.
The show started 10 years ago with episodes that lasted only a few minutes but quickly grew longer as more intensive topics ranging from dream control to zombies to acid rain were introduced. By explaining both complex and simple topics in a fun and relatable way, Stuff You Should Know had a strong following from the start, and it has since been atop the podcast charts. In addition to one billion all-time downloads, the show averages 30 million monthly downloads, making it one of the Top 3 podcasts in 2018.
“Stuff You Should Know was born out of a curiosity that Chuck and I both have about everything,” said Josh Clark, co-host of Stuff You Should Know. We aren’t experts on any of the topics we discuss on the show, we just happen to be good at talking together about what we’ve dug up and I think that makes the podcast accessible and enjoyable for everyone. Reaching one billion downloads has really validated what we’ve built over the past 10 years and it makes us excited about the next 10 too. It’s an amazing milestone for us and we’re grateful to all the listeners around the world who helped grow that number.”
“In the last decade, podcasting has exploded into the mainstream, now producing some of highest-quality content in the world,” said Conal Byrne, President of the iHeartPodcast Network. “And one of the best parts about this medium is its listeners. The relationship between podcast creators and their audiences is like nothing else: intimate, authentic, passionate. These are the fans behind every one of these billion downloads. We are thrilled to be the first to reach this milestone, and we look forward to the next one billion.”
iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia’s all-in-one digital music, podcast, on demand and live streaming radio service, is partnered with all major podcast publishers ranging from NPR and WNYC to ESPN and Gimlet. In September 2018 , iHeartMedia also acquired Stuff Media, LLC, the leading for-profit publisher of entertaining and informative podcast content, which includes the HowStuffWorks podcasting business.
![Podcast listening in US grew 20% in 2022 with the weekly listening average increasing from 2.7 hours in 2021 to 3.8 hours in 2022 according to Triton Digital. Triton Digital’s U.S. Year-End Podcast Report provides key insights into the growing US podcast landscape over the course of 2022. Key findings from the U.S. Year-End Podcast Report Podcast listening continues to grow, with a 20% increase in downloads in 2022. The average listener downloaded more than one hour more of content per week in 2022, in comparison to the prior year. Both Apple Podcasts and Spotify are leaders in where podcasts are consumed. Spotify has more listeners, but Apple has more total downloads and downloads per listener. Mobile remains the key podcast listening device. Smart speaker podcast listening has declined, returning to pre-Covid levels. News, Comedy, and True Crime remain the largest podcast genres. Significant consumption of back catalogue episodes exists, although varying by genre. Amongst the facts contained in the report, it now takes an average weekly download of 490K to make the top 51-100 position in the Podcast Top 100 chart and over 3 million downloads to get into the top 25. On average there were 226 million podcast downloads in the US with NPR News Now being the number 1 most downloaded podcast of the year. Rachel Maddow Presents: Ultra was the top performing debut podcast of the year, launching in October with the highest number of downloads and listeners during a debut month. The report found that monthly podcast listeners are younger than the general population and are more likely to be male. They also tend to be more affluent, better educated and more diverse with 15% more Hispanic and 9% more Black/African American listeners than the general population. The complete 27-page report which is free can be obtained from Triton Digital here. Recent articles of interest [icon name="file-alt" style="solid" class="" unprefixed_class=""] US women want more female oriented podcasts [icon name="file-alt" style="solid" class="" unprefixed_class=""] Spotify reveals its 2022 Wrapped podcasts [icon name="file-alt" style="solid" class="" unprefixed_class=""] Podcast listening among US Latinos hits record high SOURCE: Triton Digital - Podcast listening in US grew 20% in 2022.](https://www.hiresaudio.online/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Podcast-listening-in-US-grew-20-in-2022-feat-326x245.webp)
