Oxford Road announces “ORBIT Top 15 Performing Sports Podcasts & Top 5 Sports Networks” – its latest podcast rankings based on actual sales results, drawing from $1.6 billion+ in campaign data across 500+ advertisers.

While the “Big Game” and Olympics may have taken over February, the truth is that sports is a top podcast genre year-round, for listeners and advertisers. But our newest ranking suggests that sports podcasts that deliver the most advertising value may not be the ones you’d expect. Analyzing 12 months of real campaign outcomes, our data shows that podcasts for the biggest sports leagues – like the NFL, NBA, and MLB – often underperform on measurable sales impact. Instead, niche sports are consistently delivering stronger ad performance.

The top findings:

• Niches get riches: 67% of the top-performing shows came from niche sports. It makes sense – listeners for a general NFL show are spread out across options while, for niche shows, the community rallies around a single host and feels a greater affinity. That closeness means acting on host recommendations more often.
• Motorsports are in pole position: Accounting for over a quarter of our Top 15 shows, the motorsports genre is impossible to ignore. More importantly, it’s one of the most reliable seasonal performers. Unlike the short-lived spikes of the “Big Game” or March Madness, motorsports delivers sustained momentum over an 8-month season.
• Fantasy, meet reality: Fantasy sports is a top performer, but not when you think. The NFL off-season delivers 2.4x in-season performance. Why? There’s less crowding in the ads, but hardcore fans still listen.
• Rituals win: Daily sports podcasts placed #1 and #2 in our show rankings. That’s not a fluke. There’s a baked-in advantage in daily formats. Audiences need to tune in fast, or the perishable content will be irrelevant. Advertisers score through frequent ads and can even flight sequential messages.
• Get in the game: Participatory sports (golf, fantasy, and hunting) make up a small fraction of the total sports media landscape, but grabbed 45% of the top 15. Listeners looking to learn are leaning in and ready to act as compared to more passive shows. That deeper engagement in the content means deeper engagement with the ads.

“Conventional wisdom would have you buy the usual suspects, the biggest sports shows during the biggest moments. We see it differently. If you’re a performance advertiser, this won’t surprise you: the counter-intuitive play is almost always the right one. The shows actually driving results aren’t the obvious picks. And the best time to buy them might not be in-season. In performance, you learn to zig when they zag,” said Dan Granger, CEO of Oxford Road.

Oxford’s Measurement Advantage

Findings were surfaced using ORBIT (Oxford Road Benchmark Intelligence Tool) – built on the industry’s largest index of podcast advertising performance data. The system measures actual customer acquisition costs, return on ad spend, and sales results from real campaigns. Oxford Road has processed more podcast advertising performance data than any other agency, creating an index that normalizes results across different advertiser goals and verticals.

For performance marketers, the tool enables advertisers to de-risk initial buys, optimize faster, and find high-performing shows before they become expensive.

Oxford Road will continue to release new ORBIT rankings monthly, covering categories including genre-specific performance, international markets, emerging shows, and vertical-specific results. Each ranking draws from Oxford Road’s proprietary database of campaign outcomes across podcasting, streaming audio, terrestrial radio, and creator-based video.

The full “ORBIT Top 15 Performing Sports Podcasts & Top 5 Sports Networks” list and methodology details are available here.

About Oxford Road

Oxford Road is the world’s largest podcast advertising agency, specializing in audio advertising across podcasting, streaming audio, terrestrial radio, and creator-based video. Following its 2024 merger with Veritone One, the agency serves Fortune 500 companies, global publicly held enterprises, B2B brands, and direct-to-consumer businesses, having processed more podcast advertising performance data than any other firm. Recognized as thought leaders by The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Adweek, and Ad Age, Oxford Road continues to drive industry innovation. ORBIT is part of Oxford Road’s WOVN decision-support platform, which includes proprietary tools like Audiolytics® and advanced brand safety solutions.