2018 was another exciting year for podcasting. The popular Podbean app for Android and iOS continued seeing growth in podcasts, listeners and engagement. We’re excited to announce the top podcasts from 2018 in a number of categories. Certain topics, such as true crime and investigative shows, continue to be popular but it’s also exciting to see a diverse range of types and styles of shows doing well.
The top 10 podcasts by listens/plays in the Podbean app. Podbean’s top 10 most popular podcasts of 2018 were: The Joe Rogan Experience, Critical Role, Stuff You Should Know, My Favorite Murder, True Crime Garage, The Ben Shapiro Show, Serial, Last Podcast on the Left, The Adventure Zone and The Daily.
These podcasts, new to the Podbean app in 2018, hit the scene with a bang, bringing in top listen to stats among new shows. The Teacher’s Pet was top on this list.
These podcasts demonstrate global listener popularity. They hit the top 100 for the most number of countries. For example, the #1 Global Influencer, Stuff You Should Know, is in the top 100 for 134 different countries. The #10 Global Influencer, Welcome to Nightvale, made the top 100 for 112 countries.
Actively-engaged audiences help podcasts grow. We see evidence of this, as podcasts actively engaging with listeners via comments in the Podbean app show solid growth and many also show up on the most popular list. Any podcast can submit/claim their listing in the Podbean app to engage with listeners and manage comments. It’s a great way to extend the podcast into a conversation.
These podcasts achieved the highest four-week listener retention rate. Their retention rates are around 70%. This reflects podcasts attracting and maintaining loyal fans. Coming soon, all podcasts (hosted on Podbean or not) will be able to check out their listener retention rate on the Podbean app for free.
We’ve also listed out the most popular podcasts (listens/plays in the Podbean app) for each podcast category. Check out top podcasts in “Arts”, “Business”, “Comedy”, “Education”, “Games & Hobbies”, “Government & Organizations”, “Health”, “Kids & Family”, “Music”, “News & Politics”, “Religion & Spirituality”, “Science & Medicine”, “Society & Culture”, “Sports & Recreation”, “Technology”, and “TV & Film”.
Congratulations to these podcasts and to all the podcasters who put out quality content in 2018! The Podbean team wishes you happy podcasting in 2019 and beyond.
Check out the entire list of The Podbean Podcast App’s Top Podcasts of 2018. To learn more about Podbean visit www.podbean.com. Get the Podbean podcast app in the Apple app store or Google Play store and try out all its great features for both listeners and podcasters.
