Summer must be near — and it shows in the numbers. As the days get longer, it appears many podcasters are taking time off: May saw a significant dip in podcast output, with nearly 10,000 fewer episodes published compared to April. Yep, we’ve seen this just about every summer that we’ve tracked the monthly stats! This seasonal slowdown suggests a common trend of reduced publishing as creators recharge or prep for summer content strategies.
But let’s look at some exciting trends! One of the brightest spots in May’s data is a surprising surge in worldwide podcast growth, especially from Vatican City. The Holy See experienced an astounding 3,556% jump in active podcasts, climbing from just 18 in April to a remarkable 658 in May. While the global podcasting landscape may be cooling in some places, others are just heating up. The graphs below break it all down.
847,653 New Episodes
TOTAL EPISODES
Top 10 Published by Category
BLUBRRY HOSTING
Top 5 by Category
AVERAGE EPISODE LISTENS
By Show Size
Ranges are determined during the reporting period when a show meets the threshold once, aka 10,001 listens/downloads, etc. When a show meets the threshold, we include all episodes for the past 30 days that were published a minimum 10 days.
TOP CLIENTS
How Podcasts Were Consumed in May
by Platform
BLUBRRY TOP 10 COUNTRIES
WORLDWIDE GROWTH TRENDS
Largest Podcast Growth in May
BLUBRRY GLOBAL LISTENER RETENTION
GLOBAL PODCAST INDEX STATS
Total Podcasts (as of June 4): 4,554,772
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