With politics defining the national conversation, new Triton Digital podcast data highlights strong performance from news and commentary formats, with iHeartMedia, NPR, and Audacy maintaining their lead positions across podcast distribution.
In the Top Sales Network rankings for Triton’s September 2025 US Podcast Ranker, the iHeart Audience Network again claimed the top spot with 71.9 million average weekly downloads, followed by NPR with 27.5 million, and Audacy Podcast Network with 16.5 million.
For Top Podcasts, NPR News Now held #1, followed by Up First from NPR at #2. The Charlie Kirk Show from Salem Podcast Network climbed into the #3 position, following the host’s murder at Utah Valley University on September 10.
New to this month’s chart were Fifteen: Inside the Daniel Marsh Murders from Audacy Podcast Network and The Late-Round Fantasy Football Podcast from iHeart Audience Network.
Triton’s monthly US Podcast Ranker, certified by the IAB Tech Lab, measures participating publishers using its Podcast Metrics service, which tracks audience data according to IAB v2.2 Technical Measurement Guidelines. The system eliminates inconsistent reporting and self-submitted data to ensure standardized, transparent results for publishers, buyers, and marketers.
