NPR News Now claims top position in July podcast rankings

NPR News Now secured the top position in the July 2025 US podcast rankings released on August 5, 2025, according to Podtrac's monthly measurement data. The news program gained one position from June, displacing The Daily from The New York Times, which dropped to second place.

According to Podtrac, five of the US rankings participants increased their Unique Monthly Audience (UMA) during July compared to June. Six participants experienced growth in US Downloads during the same period. The rankings encompass shows that participated in Podtrac measurement for the complete month being analyzed.

NPR demonstrated substantial presence across the top 20, securing four positions. Up First from NPR climbed two positions to third place, while Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! maintained its 17th position. Planet Money achieved the most dramatic movement, surging 11 positions to reach 20th place.

News and current affairs content dominated the upper rankings. Seven of the top 20 podcasts focused on news or current events, including NPR News Now, The Daily, Up First from NPR, Fox News Hourly Update at fourth position, and Dateline NBC at fifth. Traditional investigative formats like 48 Hours and 20/20 also maintained strong positions at 12th and 16th respectively.

The New York Times maintained two shows in the rankings through The Daily and The Ezra Klein Show at 15th position. iHeart Podcasts represented the largest commercial publisher presence with three shows: Stuff You Should Know at eighth position, On Purpose with Jay Shetty at 11th, and My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff and Georgia Hardstark at 14th.

According to the data, The Tim Dillon Show gained three positions to reach 19th place. 48 Hours from Paramount climbed two positions to 12th, while This American Life and The Ben Shapiro Show each declined two positions to 10th and 13th respectively.

The measurement data reflects industry-wide changes in podcast consumption patterns. Recent developments in programmatic podcast advertising have expanded automated buying capabilities across major platforms. Spotify announced expanded access to 170 million monthly podcast listeners through its Ad Exchange and Ads Manager platforms in July 2025.

Publisher diversity characterized the rankings. NPR's four-show presence averaged a 10.3 ranking position across NPR News Now, Up First, Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!, and Planet Money. iHeart Podcasts averaged 11.0 across their three entries, while The New York Times averaged 8.5 between The Daily and The Ezra Klein Show.

Fox News Hourly Update from FOX Audio Network held steady at fourth position without movement. NBC News maintained Dateline NBC at fifth position. Barstool Sports' Pardon My Take remained at seventh position, while Vox Media's Today, Explained stayed at ninth.

Traditional media companies demonstrated podcast monetization efforts. According to recent industry partnerships, The Athletic signed an exclusive global podcast deal with Acast in April 2025, granting exclusive rights to sell audio advertisements across more than 35 sports-focused podcasts.

The rankings methodology incorporates Unique US Monthly Audience measurements across participating shows. Podtrac expanded its measurement capabilities to include Top Podcasts by Country rankings for 35 countries, providing global context for podcast performance analysis.

Industry automation continues reshaping podcast advertising approaches. Recent technological developments include AI voice cloning capabilities for programmatic podcast advertisements, launched through Triton Digital's partnership with ekoz.ai in March 2025.

According to measurement data, 11 shows experienced no ranking changes between June and July. Nine shows recorded position movements, with five gaining positions and four declining. The stability suggests established audience loyalty while movement indicates active content discovery mechanisms.

Cumulus Podcast Network maintained The Shawn Ryan Show at sixth position. Tucker Carlson Network's The Tucker Carlson Show held 18th position without change. The Walt Disney Company's 20/20 remained stable at 16th position throughout the measurement period.

The podcast advertising market demonstrates continued growth potential. Recent research indicates a 22% gap between consumer audio engagement and advertiser investment, with consumers dedicating 31% of media time to audio content while advertisers allocate only 9% of budgets to audio platforms.

Advanced targeting capabilities emerge across the industry. Episode-level contextual targeting enables advertisers to target specific topics discussed within individual podcast episodes, exceeding traditional show-level targeting limitations.

Measurement methodologies continue evolving. Edison Research revealed that podcast rankings began incorporating data from individuals whose sole podcast consumption occurred through video platforms in 2025, affecting shows with substantial video components.

The rankings data indicates sustained news content consumption patterns. Political and investigative programming maintained consistent audience engagement despite seasonal variations. Educational content through shows like Stuff You Should Know demonstrated enduring appeal across demographic segments.

Programmatic advertising growth influences podcast monetization strategies. According to recent analysis, 72% of marketers plan to increase programmatic advertising investment in 2025, though audio and podcast advertising represents only 9% of programmatic spending despite growth from 7% in 2023.

Platform consolidation affects distribution strategies. Recent acquisitions include Audioboom's purchase of UK podcast leader Adelicious, creating the UK's largest homegrown podcast network with 40 million unique listeners and more than 125 million monthly downloads.

Independent networks compete with major platforms. SiriusXM secured exclusive deals with popular shows like Morbid, demonstrating platform competition for premium content through exclusive distribution and advertising rights.

Technology platforms address scale challenges. Frequency launched its Premium Publisher Network in March 2025, bridging host-read advertisement quality with programmatic efficiency through automated vetting and production processes.

The July rankings data encompasses shows participating in Podtrac measurement throughout the complete measurement period. Global rankings and publisher network performance data complement the US-focused measurements, providing comprehensive industry analysis across international markets.

Timeline

• February 15, 2024: Audiohook and Sounder launch episode-level contextual targeting for podcast advertising
• February 9, 2025: Programmatic advertising growth reaches 72% according to Comscore report
• March 31, 2025: Frequency launches Premium Publisher Network for podcast advertising monetization
• April 16, 2025: The Athletic signs exclusive global podcast deal with Acast
• July 11, 2025: Spotify expands automated podcast buying to 170 million listeners
• July 15, 2025: Triton Digital adds AI voice cloning for programmatic podcast ads
• July 17, 2025: Audioboom acquires UK podcast leader Adelicious
• August 2, 2025: Morbid podcast signs exclusive deal with SiriusXM
• August 2, 2025: Edison Research podcast rankings reveal video integration challenges
• August 5, 2025: Podtrac releases July 2025 podcast rankings showing NPR News Now in top position

Summary

Who: Podtrac released the rankings, with NPR, The New York Times, iHeart Podcasts, and other major publishers participating in the measurement program.

What: July 2025 US podcast rankings based on Unique Monthly Audience data, showing NPR News Now claiming the top position while Planet Money achieved the largest movement with an 11-position gain.

When: The rankings were announced on August 5, 2025, covering July 2025 performance data for participating podcasts.

Where: The rankings cover US podcast performance, though Podtrac also provides global measurements and has expanded to include Top Podcasts by Country rankings for 35 countries.

Why: The rankings matter for the marketing community because they reflect audience engagement patterns during a period of significant industry automation, with programmatic podcast advertising expanding and new targeting technologies emerging to address the 22% gap between consumer audio engagement and advertiser investment.

Key Terms Explained

Programmatic Advertising: Automated buying and selling of advertising inventory through technology platforms using real-time bidding mechanisms. Unlike traditional advertising that requires manual negotiations, programmatic uses algorithms to execute transactions within milliseconds. The podcast industry has seen 72% of marketers planning to increase programmatic investment in 2025, though audio represents only 9% of total programmatic spending despite growing from 7% in 2023.

Unique Monthly Audience (UMA): A measurement metric that counts individual listeners who consumed podcast content within a specific month, regardless of how many episodes they heard. Podtrac uses UMA as the primary ranking criterion, providing standardized measurement across participating shows. This metric helps advertisers understand actual reach rather than just download numbers, which can be inflated by automated systems or multiple downloads from the same user.

Dynamic Ad Insertion: Technology that allows advertisements to be inserted into podcast content after initial publication, enabling targeted advertising based on listener demographics, geography, or behavior. This differs from baked-in advertisements that become permanent parts of the audio file. Major platforms like Spotify process billions of dynamically inserted audio ad impressions monthly, providing flexibility for advertisers to update campaigns without requiring new content production.

Host-Read Advertisements: Sponsored content delivered by podcast hosts using their own voice and style, typically achieving higher engagement rates than produced commercials. These advertisements leverage the trust and parasocial relationships between hosts and audiences. Recent technological developments enable AI voice cloning to scale host-read quality across programmatic campaigns, addressing traditional limitations around production time and host availability.

Episode-Level Targeting: Advanced advertising capability that enables marketers to target specific topics discussed within individual podcast episodes, exceeding traditional show-level classifications. This precision targeting uses AI analysis to identify relevant content regardless of a show's declared genre. For example, advertisers can target discussions about "American football" across various shows, not just those classified as "Sports" podcasts.

Audio Engagement Gap: The disparity between consumer audio consumption patterns and advertiser budget allocation, currently measuring 22% according to industry research. Consumers dedicate 31% of their media time to audio content while advertisers allocate only 9% of budgets to audio platforms. This gap represents significant opportunity for brands willing to increase audio advertising investment as measurement and targeting capabilities improve.

Connected TV (CTV): Streaming television content delivered through internet-connected devices, experiencing rapid growth in advertising investment. CTV's share of media budgets is projected to double from 14% in 2023 to 28% in 2025. This growth impacts podcast advertising as both compete for audio-visual attention and as platforms increasingly offer video podcast capabilities that blur traditional content boundaries.

Contextual Targeting: Advertising approach that places advertisements based on content context rather than user tracking, becoming increasingly important as privacy regulations limit traditional targeting methods. In podcast advertising, contextual targeting analyzes episode content, show descriptions, and topics to match relevant advertisements. This approach addresses privacy concerns while maintaining advertising relevance and effectiveness.

Publisher Network: Organized collection of podcast creators or shows managed under unified distribution, advertising, and monetization strategies. Networks provide infrastructure support, advertising sales representation, and audience development resources that individual creators often cannot access independently. Recent consolidation activities demonstrate how networks compete for premium content through exclusive deals and enhanced monetization capabilities.

Measurement Methodology: Standardized approaches for tracking podcast consumption, audience behavior, and advertising effectiveness across platforms and shows. Industry measurement faces challenges from video integration, privacy regulations, and fragmented consumption patterns. Recent changes include incorporating video-only podcast consumption and eliminating self-reported data inconsistencies to provide more accurate audience and performance metrics.