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The Q1 2026 Triton Digital data also highlights a surge in family-friendly series
By Nick Langan ⋅
When it comes to podcasts, the ones that make us laugh are also the most popular, while series geared toward children and families are seeing growth.
Triton Digital’s Q1 2026 U.S. Podcast Ranker also found that listeners to business- and technology-themed podcasts have the most purchasing power. Its rankings show that, by genre, comedy placed 47 shows in the top 200, taking the top spot.
You can view the Q1 2026 data here.
In a release, Triton cited comedy podcasts like “Smosh Reads Reddit Stories” and “Distractible” as driving listenership through storytelling focused on internet trends from platforms like Reddit.
Comedy was followed by the news category and then the society & culture category.
The iHeart Audience Network was the number one sales network by average weekly downloads for the quarter, followed by Audioboom and the Cumulus Podcast Network. (Those rankings only include sales networks measured by Triton.)
The top podcasts by average weekly downloads are “Pod Save America” on the Audioboom network, followed by “Stuff You Should Know” on iHeart and “The Dan Bongino Show” on Cumulus.
Other trends the report noted:
A surge in sports: The sports genre led the way for new entries into the Triton top 200 this quarter, driven by the growth of daily talk formats and athlete-led shows. Two series highlighted in the report are “7PM in Brooklyn,” hosted by Carmelo Anthony, and “The Pivot Podcast,” led by Ryan Clark and fellow former NFL players.
Family-friendly growth: The kids & family genre saw 9% growth from Q4 2025, which Triton believes is attributable to podcasting becoming more of a fixture in everyday family life.
High-earning listeners: Approximately 51% of technology podcast listeners hold over $250K in investable assets, according to Triton. The business and technology categories also lead in business travel intent, which the firm believes positions such offerings as “premium channels” for reaching decision-makers and professionals with purchasing power.
Niche audiences: Science podcasts attract affluent, business-oriented listeners, Triton said, while fiction is an entry point for Gen Z and multicultural audiences, particularly Hispanic listeners.
Triton Digital’s Podcast Metrics measurement service is produced in collaboration with Signal Hill Insights.
It is drawn from Triton Digital’s Podcast Metrics download data combined with survey data from an annual poll of approximately 12,000 U.S. adults aged 18 and over who listen to podcasts.
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Nick Langan
The author is a content producer and staff writer for Radio World, having joined the editorial team in 2024. He has a lifelong passion for long-distance FM radio propagation and is a faculty advisor for 89.1 WXVU(FM). He is also the creator of RadioLand, an FM radio location mobile app, which he completed for his Villanova University graduate thesis.
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