Podscribe: Top Shows, Publishers and Advertiser Growth in the October 2025 Industry Rankings

This month’s rankings (Editor: by 'this month’, Podscribe means 'September’, and not October) continued to showcase the dynamic growth of the podcast and audio ad industry, with standout show performances, publisher momentum, and advertisers doubling down on the medium. October’s charts highlight a landscape that is diversifying, accelerating, and driving meaningful results for creators and brands alike.

Podcast Show Highlights

• The Daily (NYT) held strong at #1, but actually widened its lead with an even higher audio reach (+12.4M vs. +11.7M in September).
• The Mel Robbins Podcast saw a major drop, falling from #3 last month to #6 this month, losing significant audio reach (4.6M, -22.4%).
• New Heights cooled after September’s massive spike, though still holding a strong #2 position in downloads and views per episode but fell out of the top 10 for audio reach and monthly downloads and views.
• The Charlie Kirk Show jumped ranks and enters at #9 in audio reach (3.9M, +232%).

Publisher Highlights

• Spotify held its position on top with 53.9M audio reach and climbed to #2 in monthly downloads and views (225.8M)
• iHeartMedia gained ground in both lists, climbing to #3 in audio reach and #5 in monthly downloads.
• Red Seat Ventures, publisher with mostly news, political/opinion, true crime, and personality/host-driven content, made a major debut in the top 10, entering the top 10 publishers for monthly downloads and views at #9.
• Wondery had mixed performance: holding #5 in audio reach, but dropping to #10 in monthly downloads.
• GeorgeTom, the publisher behind Candace, makes its debut at #7 in monthly downloads and views.

Advertiser Highlights

• BetterHelp leads the pack to become the top podcast advertiser with $7M in estimated spend.
• Amazon and Shopify follow close behind with $5.9M and $5.6M spend respectively, holding their positions in the top 3.
• Progressive Insurance climbed to the #5 spot with $4.5M spend.
• Norton LifeLock dropped out of the top 10, while DraftKings increases spend to $3.9M.

The podcast industry continues to evolve rapidly, with established leaders holding strong and advertisers expanding their investments. October underscores podcasting’s unmatched ability to deliver engagement, reach, and measurable ROI for brands across industries.

About Podscribe

Podscribe is the leader in pixel-based attribution, incrementality, and verification for podcast, streaming, CTV, and other hard-to-measure media channels. We help advertisers, agencies, and publishers measure true campaign impact, optimize performance, and scale with confidence, backed by real-time, household-level data.

Learn more at www.podscribe.com or contact us at adops@podscribe.com.