Do News Podcasts Swoon in June?
Summer is here. So do news listeners check out and head to the beach? Curious, I looked at rankers for the last three years.
It’s summertime in the U.S. and even news junkies like myself take time off.
You head to the beach. You join friends at a BBQ. You go jump in the lake, literally.
So if you have a News podcast, should you worry? Do news consumers tune out and go visit beautiful places like Portland Head Light in Maine?
The June swoon is something I’ve monitored for years.
News podcasts have been at the center of my career in podcasting, thanks to my time at The Wall Street Journal and Cumulus Podcast Network. So naturally my News Guy curiosity is tingling here.
I went back and looked at Triton rankers for June 2022, June 2023 and June 2024. I also looked at the Podtrac ranker for those same months.
NPR has ruled the Triton roost with its hourly newscast. NPR News Now has ranked first or second the last three June ranking periods when measured by weekly average downloads.
As NPR reigned over the Triton ranker, The New York Times dominated the Podtrac ranker the last three June periods, with The Daily holding the top spot and NPR News Now in the top five.
High-level conclusion? Those News shows at the tippy-top of rankers have avoided a June swoon. And I expect that will continue for June 2025 given recent events in Los Angeles and the Middle East.
FUN FACT: The number of News podcasts ranking on Triton has actually grown in June in recent years. There were 21 News podcasts in 2022, 20 in 2023, and 27 in 2024. Hooray for the Newsies!
Things I’m Watching:
When the Triton and Podtrac rankers come out for June 2025, will NPR News Now and The Daily continue their reign? President Trump is making headlines seemingly by the hour and the recent bombing of Iran has stoked the news furnace. So I’d be shocked if NPR News Now and The Daily don’t reign again.
What about opinion-based News podcasts hosted by conservatives? In May, the Triton ranker had Charlie Kirk, VINCE, Mark Levin, Verdict with Ted Cruz, Bongino Report Early Edition and Sean Hannity all slipping in the top 50. Will that continue in June? Or with Trump really active right now, will conservative podcasters benefit from 47’s activity?
MY RECOMMENDATION Take some time off and read a good book. I’m currently enjoying Dave Says…Well Done! about Wendy’s founder and fast food entrepreneur Dave Thomas.
John Wordock runs his own podcast and media consulting firm John Wordock Media. He served as Executive Editor and SVP for Podcasting at Westwood One from 2019 to 2024, helping build Cumulus Podcast Network into a top ten network and top channel on Apple. He also served as Executive Producer for Podcasts at The Wall Street Journal until 2019. He started podcasting back in 2006. Wanna talk? Email John@JohnWordockMedia.com.