Competing year-end charts show podcast success fragmented across platforms, no universal measurement standard
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Podwires Rundown : YouTube released their 2025 trending lists to celebrate the platform’s 20th anniversary, and the podcast rankings should make every industry executive question what “success” even means anymore. Joe Rogan topped YouTube’s U.S. podcast chart based on total watch time, followed by KILL TONY in second place and Good Mythical Morning in third. But here’s where it gets messy: Spotify dropped their Wrapped data days earlier showing Steven Bartlett beating Rogan in the UK, while KILL TONY – YouTube’s #2 show – doesn’t appear anywhere in Spotify’s global top 10. We’re not measuring the same medium anymore. We’re measuring which platform’s algorithm surfaced which content most effectively, and calling it industry achievement.
YouTube announced their End Of Year Trending Lists alongside the launch of YouTube Recap, their first-ever personalized viewing summary feature, with podcast rankings compiled by Kevin Allocca (Global Director of YouTube Culture & Trends) and the YouTube Culture & Trends team. The data, released via PR from Mackensie (YouTube team), ranks podcasts based on total watch time in the U.S. throughout 2025, excluding clips and Shorts, revealing significant platform-specific differences in podcast consumption patterns.
The Key Points:
The Joe Rogan Experience topped YouTube’s U.S. podcast rankings based on total watch time, followed by KILL TONY in second place and Good Mythical Morning in third, with rankings measured exclusively through full-length video playlist consumption
KILL TONY’s #2 position on YouTube contrasts sharply with its complete absence from Spotify’s global top 10, while The Diary of a CEO ranked #10 on YouTube but topped Spotify’s UK charts, demonstrating platform-specific audience fragmentation
YouTube launched YouTube Recap for the first time, providing users with personalized viewing summaries including up to 12 cards spotlighting top channels, interests, viewing habits, and personality types, directly competing with Spotify’s established Wrapped experience
The rankings methodology excludes clips and Shorts, measuring only full podcast playlist watch time, creating fundamentally different success metrics than Spotify’s approach which counts streams across audio and video
YouTube’s 20th anniversary positioning emphasizes the platform as “the ultimate engine for shared pop culture experiences,” with Kevin Allocca highlighting how creators “propel” content “into global phenomena” through the platform’s distribution infrastructure
Why It Matters: The podcasting industry now has competing definitions of success from the two platforms that control most podcast video distribution, and there’s no reconciliation between them. YouTube measures watch time of full episodes, Spotify measures streams and engaged users across formats, and neither metric captures the open RSS ecosystem where millions of listeners consume content through independent apps. When KILL TONY ranks #2 on one platform and doesn’t crack the top 50 on another, that’s not just measurement variance – it’s proof that “podcast charts” have become platform scorecards rather than industry benchmarks. Advertisers making budget decisions and creators evaluating performance are comparing incompatible data sets while pretending they measure the same success.
The Big Picture: For podcasters and producers, this data exposes the uncomfortable reality of platform balkanization disguised as industry growth. You don’t have one show anymore – you have multiple shows with different performance profiles across different platforms. KILL TONY’s #2 YouTube ranking proves that live comedy podcasts with visual elements dominate video consumption, but that same show’s Spotify absence suggests their audience lives exclusively on YouTube. Fair play to Tony Hinchcliffe for building something that works in YouTube’s ecosystem, but here’s the part nobody wants to admit: optimizing for YouTube watch time requires completely different content strategies than optimizing for Spotify streams.
The Diary of a CEO appearing at #10 on YouTube but #1 on Spotify UK tells you exactly what each platform prioritizes. YouTube rewards visual engagement and watch time – the algorithm surfaces content that keeps people on the platform. Spotify rewards streams and repeat listening – the algorithm surfaces content that drives habitual consumption. Same show, radically different platform strategies, completely incompatible success metrics.
The actionable reality for podcasters: you need to decide which platform you’re actually optimizing for, because trying to serve both equally is burning resources. If your content naturally includes strong visual elements, compelling on-camera presence, or live audience dynamics, YouTube’s watch time methodology favors you. If your content works better as background audio with high replay value, Spotify’s streaming model rewards you. Trying to split the difference – adding cameras to an audio-first show just for “distribution optionality” – often results in mediocre performance on both platforms.
For podcast producers, notice what’s NOT in either chart: independent shows without video infrastructure, audio-only creators, regional podcasts serving specific communities. Good Mythical Morning ranking #3 on YouTube isn’t surprising – it’s a highly produced, video-native show with years of YouTube optimization. But calling it a “podcast” stretches the definition to include any long-form video content with episodic structure. At what point does the word “podcast” just mean “serialized video content” on YouTube while meaning “on-demand audio” on Spotify?
Here’s the part that should concern anyone invested in open podcasting: both platforms launched competing “Recap” experiences this year, directly copying each other’s year-end personalization features. YouTube Recap gives users personalized viewing summaries with “personality types” based on watch history. Spotify Wrapped shows listening habits and top creators. Neither platform surfaces data about RSS consumption, cross-platform listening, or the broader podcast ecosystem. They’re training audiences to measure their podcast year through proprietary platform metrics, not through the medium itself.
The fragmentation creates strategic confusion. An advertiser seeing KILL TONY at #2 on YouTube might allocate significant budget, only to discover that show’s audience doesn’t exist on Spotify where their attribution tracking lives. A creator celebrating top 10 placement on Spotify UK might miss that their YouTube performance is weak, limiting video sponsorship opportunities. The industry keeps talking about “multi-platform strategies” like it’s sophisticated distribution, but we’re really just admitting that no single measurement standard exists for podcasting anymore.
For advertisers reading this: when you see “top podcast” claims, immediately ask “on which platform, using what methodology?” YouTube’s watch time rankings favor different content than Spotify’s stream counts, and neither captures the millions of listeners using Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, or other RSS clients. The show ranked #2 on one platform might not register on another – which means your CPM calculations and attribution models need platform-specific strategies, not universal “podcast advertising” approaches.
The uncomfortable truth? Podcasting didn’t become mainstream in 2025. Two closed platforms competing for video-forward content distribution became mainstream, and we’re calling it podcasting because the shows happen to release episodically and sometimes include conversation. YouTube’s 20th anniversary positioning as “the ultimate engine for shared pop culture experiences” isn’t wrong, but it’s sure as hell not open podcasting. It’s YouTube celebrating YouTube’s distribution power, exactly like Spotify Wrapped celebrates Spotify’s platform dominance.
When Kevin Allocca says creators “propel content into global phenomena,” what he means is: YouTube’s algorithm propels content that serves YouTube’s business model into YouTube’s user base. Same thing Spotify does with their algorithmic recommendations and editorial curation. Nothing wrong with that – they’re platforms, not charities. But let’s stop pretending platform-specific charts measure podcasting success when they really measure platform lock-in effectiveness.
The industry wanted mainstream acceptance. We got platform fragmentation with competing measurement standards and no universal truth about what constitutes success. REALLY? Yes. Really.
Let that sink in.
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