YouTube podcast numbers for some of the biggest podcast networks in the U.S. are meager, as users are likelier to listen on other streaming platforms.
YouTube made a determined effort over the past year to bring podcasts to its platform, but the numbers haven't been there yet.
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NPR, Slate, and The New York Times have all joined YouTube in the past year, posting podcast episodes on the platform each week.
- NPR and The New York Times are numbers three and four, respectively, on Podtrac's top publisher ranking. Slate doesn't participate in the tracking of downloads but accumulated 190 million downloads in 2022.
- Last week, Slate's YouTube shows averaged 75 views per video, and NPR averaged 179.
- Because of The Daily, The New York Times was higher but still only averaged around 1,000 views per video.
- Speculation is that the lack of video to go with the audio is causing most users to just listen on other platforms.