iHeartPodcasts and its massive ad network continued to dominate U.S. podcast listening in November 2025, even as the typical year-end holiday slump caused most publishers tracked by Podtrac to post month-over-month declines in downloads and unique listeners.
iHeartPodcasts itself recorded 165 million U.S. downloads/streams and 30 million unique listeners, while the broader iHeart Audience Network — which bundles iHeart shows with roughly 26,000 third-party podcasts — delivered 337 million U.S. downloads/streams and reached 64 million unique listeners, more than double any single publisher.
Only three publishers saw gains in November. Acast and NPR remained tied for third place: NPR led in total downloads (112 million vs. Acast’s 77 million), while Acast had a slightly larger unique audience (21 million vs. NPR’s ~20 million). Libsyn held fifth with 87 million downloads and nearly 20 million unique listeners.
At the individual show level, the top three were unchanged: NPR News Now stayed #1, followed by The New York Times’ The Daily (#2) and NPR’s Up First (#3). Notable climbers included NPR’s Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! (up 4 spots to #14), Cumulus Podcast Network’s The Shawn Ryan Show (into the top 5), and Vox Media’s Today, Explained (into the top 10).
The Charlie Kirk Show (Salem Podcast Network) continued its sharp decline after host Charlie Kirk’s murder in September, falling eight spots to #19 from a September peak of #7.
Globally, the iHeart Audience Network again led with 738 million downloads and views, with 30% now coming from YouTube despite only 89 of its 30,820 shows being distributed there.
Several publishers now get more consumption from YouTube than traditional audio: Libsyn (154 million YouTube views vs. 111 million audio), Sonoro (>50% YouTube), and Paramount (61% YouTube, the highest reliance among major players, driven by brands such as BET, CBS, Comedy Central, MTV, Nickelodeon, and Showtime).