YouTube Enters Podcast Chart Game With Weekly US Rankings

Just days after Spotify announced a new public-facing podcast metric very similar to a staple feature of YouTube, YouTube has launched its own data-driven feature – a Weekly Top Podcast Shows chart ranking the 100 most-watched podcasts in the US.

The new chart, updated every Wednesday, offers creators and audiences alike a snapshot of the top-performing podcast shows based on total watch time. To qualify, content must be designated as a podcast during the upload process and must not consist solely of Shorts or clips.

The move comes amid heated competition between the podcast platforms. Spotify’s “Plays” feature, announced earlier this month, is designed to mirror YouTube’s well-known view counter and give creators faster insight into engagement. While “Plays” won’t affect monetization, it will be visible across the Spotify app, Spotify for Creators, and Megaphone dashboards.

Meanwhile, YouTube is pushing forward with what it describes as a celebration of podcasting’s most engaging voices. With more than one billion monthly active podcast viewers and status as the most-used podcast service in the US per Edison Research, YouTube is leveraging its scale to offer creators a public-facing ranking tool that mimics charts used on traditional podcast platforms like Apple Podcasts.

Unsurprisingly, podcast behemoth Joe Rogan tops the first-ever edition of the chart, measuring May 5-11, with Kill Tony, Rotten Mango, 48 Hours, and The MeidasTouch Podcast rounding out the top five.

The video-first platform has already used similar metrics to chart the platform’s most-watched music videos, songs, and artists, and YouTube says this is just the beginning. The company plans to roll out additional podcast features and expand its charting system to other countries in the future.

Meanwhile, some podcasters are pushing back against Spotify’s new “Plays” feature, as critics – especially from smaller shows – fear it could turn podcasting into a popularity contest.