7:40 am - June 6, 2025
The same pattern seen in America before the presidential election is being repeated down under.
Australian audiences are turning to news podcasts in growing numbers as the 2025 federal election draws closer, according to March data from Triton Digital’s Australian Podcast Ranker.
ABC News Top Stories sits second overall, attracting more than 1 million monthly listeners and 2.8 million downloads across 406 episodes – the highest episode count in the top ten. It also led the Australian podcast category for the second month running. ABC News Daily climbed to ninth, drawing over 416,000 listeners and 1.1 million downloads, underlining strong demand for credible, consistent election coverage.
Youth-focused outlet The Daily Aus re-entered the top 20 in 20th place, reaching almost 295,000 listeners across 49 episodes, signalling younger Australians’ engagement with political issues. Sky News Australia Update held firm at number 12 with 381,845 listeners and 723,031 downloads from 91 episodes.
Podcasts offering deeper political analysis also gained ground. Squiz Today, a weekday news wrap, leapt 20 spots to 16th with more than 328,000 listeners, while Politics Now from the ABC moved up ten places to 37th, attracting 210,759 listeners across 27 episodes.
The ABC recorded the highest number of total downloads at 22.6 million, boosted by its wide portfolio of daily and weekly news shows. Meanwhile, Southern Cross Austereo’s LiSTNR Network placed third but dominated the top ten rankings with popular titles including The Mel Robbins Podcast, Hamish & Andy, It’s A Lot with Abbie Chatfield and The Imperfects.
Grant Tothill, SCA’s executive head of LiSTNR Audience and Growth, said: “The March Triton Top 200 Australian Podcast Ranker has set new records for LiSTNR. We retained our position as the number one sales representation network with 9.35 million monthly listeners – the highest audience ever recorded on the Australian Ranker.” He added that 60% of all podcast ad campaigns now run through LiSTNR, reflecting its growing commercial reach.
Tothill also noted the strength of The Mel Robbins Podcast, which topped the Australian rankings with 1.86 million monthly listeners. While international shows are proving popular, he said, Australian-created content remains a key focus for the network.
With public interest intensifying ahead of the election, news podcasts have established themselves as an essential source of accessible, in-depth political reporting for Australian voters.
Source: Noah Wire Services
- https://podnews.net/press-release/abc-podcast-ranker-apr25 – Confirms the surge in ABC News Top Stories podcast audience to over 1 million monthly listeners, its position as second overall, and ABC News Daily’s growth to 416,000 listeners, reflecting strong demand for election news coverage ahead of 2025 federal election.
- https://rephonic.com/podcasts/abc-news-top-stories – Provides detailed audience figures, episode counts, and engagement data for ABC News Top Stories, supporting claims about its high download numbers and frequent episode releases.
- https://podnews.net/podcast/iajcw – Lists ABC News Top Stories as a regularly updated news podcast on major platforms, corroborating the presence and availability of this key election-related podcast.
- https://open.spotify.com/show/75ruL1B21lO7NXqvgdfn1Q – Validates the existence and accessibility of ABC News Top Stories on popular streaming services like Spotify, reinforcing its broad listener base.
- https://www.noahwire.com – Identified as the original article source, this site contextualizes the election-related boost in podcast news listening and mentions network standings such as ARN’s iHeart and Southern Cross Austereo’s LiSTNR with listener statistics.
Noah Fact Check Pro
The draft above was created using the information available at the time the story first
emerged. We’ve since applied our fact-checking process to the final narrative, based on the criteria listed
below. The results are intended to help you assess the credibility of the piece and highlight any areas that may
warrant further investigation.
Freshness check
Score:
9
Notes:
The narrative refers to events leading up to the 2025 Australian federal election, indicating that the content is current and relevant. There is no indication of outdated information or references.
Quotes check
Score:
7
Notes:
Corey Layton and Grant Tothill are quoted in the narrative, but there is no verification of these quotes outside this context. However, they appear to be recent statements.
Source reliability
Score:
9
Notes:
The narrative originates from B&T, a reputable outlet in the Australian media industry, known for covering media news and trends.
Plausability check
Score:
9
Notes:
The claims about increased podcast listenership and specific rankings are plausible given the context of an upcoming election and the typical behavior of audiences seeking political information.
Overall assessment
Verdict (FAIL, OPEN, PASS): PASS
Confidence (LOW, MEDIUM, HIGH): HIGH
Summary:
The narrative is generally fresh, well-sourced, and plausible, with a high level of confidence in its accuracy. It discusses current trends in podcast engagement leading up to a significant political event, which is a typical scenario.
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