Top Podcast Hosting Companies by Episode Share (October 2025)
Livewire Labs is back with another report on the health of the industry. Their chart of top podcast hosting companies by episode share independently verified each podcast episode published on tracked platforms using media file urls instead of feed url domains, a method they say leads to undercounting hosts who offer custom domains. Only 3.14% of new episodes found in October using this method were unable to be attributed to a hosting company. Overall episode rate is up 0.2% month-over-month. 29.5% of October podcast episodes were published on Spotify, with Spreaker in second place with 18.5% and Buzzsprout at 10%.
Advertisers react to holiday creep by pushing TV spend earlier by Sam Bradley
A recent McKinsey survey found 28% of U.S. consumers started their holiday shopping before October, with only 11% of respondents planning to wait until Black Friday. Cost-of-living concerns, even before the current government shutdown, drove 39% of respondents to say their day-to-day spending is the most stressful element of their lives. A 9% increase year-over-year. As a result, advertising has adapted by breaching the confines of the handful of weeks across November and early December that they usually go hardest on holiday campaigns. Even Disney’s SVP of Entertainment and Streaming Solutions John Campbell says brand partners started booking holiday-related brand messaging as far back as August this year, a month earlier than usual. Some caution against over-relying on consumer polls without outside context. Consumers are more budget-conscious, and are happy to say that in polls, but actual spending data from throughout the year shows that doesn’t necessarily mean people aren’t spending.
City Cast Recalibrates, Adding Social Video and New Markets by Mark Stenberg
The startup, built around establishing hubs of local news reporting through daily podcasts and newsletters, is restructuring with social video a core pillar of “City Cast 2.0.” Founder David Plotz breaks down reorganization, including the shutdown of Houston and Boise City Cast arms as the company dials in on the sweet spot of cities that befit daily publications. Sprawling horizontal metropolises (I’m sad to report the plural is not “metropoli”) that are, in essence, several independent cities glued together don’t have a singular community. Meanwhile, Boise’s population of 230k is too small to support a City Cast office. Places like the Twin Cities, Nashville, and Seattle are proving to be the sweet spot as the company gained 150k newsletter subscribers and 65k monthly podcast consumers in the past year.
Local Podcasts, Big Payoff: How Broadcasters Are Turning Homegrown Talent Into Digital Gold.
Speaking of local podcast productions: industry experts say the key for local radio to gain a foothold in podcasting is actually leveraging local talent, audiences, and sales opportunities. Amplifi Media founder Steven Goldstein points to local radio’s easiest path into podcasting: making the best, most relevant local material available as a podcast. Scaling beyond that, such as Hubbard Radio has done for a decade, stations can become the audio equivalent of cable access. Local coaches hosting sports podcasts, local professors hosting shows relevant to their chosen research field. With that investment comes new revenue streams, as Hubbard tells Inside Audio Marketing their podcasts attract advertisers who don’t run on traditional radio.
SiriusXM Reports 33 Million Subscribers, Beats Wall Street Expectations by Caitlin Huston
The Q3 report from SiriusXM offers up $2.16 billion in quarterly revenue. While down 1% year-over-year, it exceeds previous analyst expectations. As has become a common refrain in big company reports, podcast advertising shines. Ad revenue for SiriusXM podcasts increased 50% year over year for Q3, offsetting a decline in revenue for ad-supported music streaming. Chief Content Officer Scott Greenstein, when asked about advertising potential for SiriusXM video podcasts, noted the growth in the video space and potential he sees in the space for their video podcast stable.
As for the rest of the news…
- Noble Mobile – Andrew Yang’s phone plan built around refunding users’ unused data and minutes – announced a new partnership with TYT to further both companies’ goals of reducing phone use and responsible media consumption. To mark the occasion, new Noble Mobile subscribers who sign up and stay for three months using TYT’s link get $50 in credit.
- Filmmaker Shaun Michael Colón is taking his new podcast industry documentary Age of Audio on the road with several screenings this month, including one this Friday as part of the Resonate Pangea podcast festival.
- I’m doubling your Steven Goldstein content today, as he’s got a new piece breaking down why high-value, high-awareness content is crucial for a podcasts’ success in a world where generative AI is swamping low-value low-awareness content.
- Zeno Media is rolling out support of HLS (HTTP Live Streaming) across their platform, taking advantage of the protocols’ faster load times, smoother playback, and measurement capabilities.
- Tubefilter covers an internal YouTube memo announcing the product wing will be split into three divisions and all three will focus on incorporating more generative AI tools.
