Magellan AI’s Q2 2026 Podcast Measurement Benchmarks are here, and the report has changed shape. Sounds Profitable President Bryan Barletta sits down with Jim Ballas, President of Measurement at Magellan AI, to walk through the new attribution benchmark data covering the first half of 2026, plus the two methodology changes behind it: a shift from quarterly to rolling six-month reporting, and a move from weighted averages to medians.
What the data shows:
– Median global response rate of 2.23%, up roughly 4% over Q1
– Host-read ads drove a 3.22% median response rate, about 54% higher than produced ads
– Median lead conversion rate of 4.65% and purchase conversion rate just under 4%
– Shows with a video component saw a 75% lift in lead conversion over RSS-only shows
– Only about 20% of site visits land in the first 24 hours after exposure, with the curve still climbing at 60 days
– Median new listener conversion rate of 1.7%, with 55-56% of those new listeners returning for two or more episodes
– Business shows drove the highest new listener rate at nearly 7.5%, while Arts and News led on repeat listeners
– Video drove 141% more new listeners, but RSS-only shows retained them about 5% better
Bryan and Jim also get into why podcasting’s long response curve gets unfairly compared to click-based channels, how last-click attribution hands podcast credit to search, and where site visits fit as a brand metric rather than a direct response one.
