Top 20 Podcast Publishers in June

Podtrac, which measures a large selection of podcasts, released data on the top 20 publishers of June:

The notable change comes at the top. NPR surpassed iHeart as No. 1. NPR went from 208 million streams and downloads in May, to 218 million in June. iHeart's total stayed at 216 million.

In May, eight of the top 20 podcasts came from NPR's podcast network: 2. NPR News Now; 3. Up First; 10. Planet Money; 11. Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me; 13. Fresh Air; 14. Hidden Brain; 16. TED Radio Hour;How I Built This. June's numbers for individual shows will be available later this month.

NPR's rise is likely another result of the wide-spread, growing interest in news and politics. The three main cable news channels were up substantially from June 2019 to June 2020: Fox News +48%; CNN +120%; MSNBC + 34%.

Barstool Sports climbed a spot this past month. Barstool is pulling away from ESPN in the podcast department. Pardon My Take, the most popular sports podcast, is operating without a rival show. Its audience is so loyal that even months without sports can't derail its success. In May, with no sports to talk about, PMT was the only sports podcast to register in the top 20, at No. 9. It'd hardly be surprising if that were the case for June, as well.

Barstool's success does, however, go beyond its sports shows. Call Her Daddy is one of the most popular overall podcasts. Via Podtrac's May measurements, which included all categories, Call Her Daddy trailed only The Daily, NPR News Now, and Up First.

Disclosure: Outkick’s founder Clay Travis is an on-air talent for iHeart on Fox Sports Radio.