Hamish & Andy have once again claimed the top spot in the Australian Podcast Ranker for September, recording 813,500 monthly listeners. That’s a drop from August, when they pulled in 855,315 listeners.
Meanwhile, ABC News Top Stories sits in second with 767,032 listeners, narrowing the gap significantly.
News surges as listeners tune in for daily updates
While Hamish & Andy and Mamamia Out Loud (563,785 listeners) maintain steady numbers, the real story this month is the dominance of news.
ABC News Top Stories isn’t the only news podcast to have made an imprint. Sky News Australia Update climbed to fifth with 484,254, and ABC News Daily and The Front both held firm inside the top 20.
Together, news-driven titles now occupy seven of the top 20 positions, it’s a significant lift compared with August’s rankings. It’s a reflection of Australians’ growing tendency to “snack” on short-form updates rather than long-form talk formats.
Breakouts, fallbacks, and one big mover
Among entertainment podcasts, Shameless (537,803) and Life Uncut (386,342) both continue their steady climb, while Dan Does Footy made a surprise leap into the top 15, landing at No. 11 with 342,958 listeners – a strong sign of sports content’s off-season pull.
Elsewhere, The Kyle & Jackie O Show sits at No. 14, holding its audience through September, while The Imperfects (No. 12, 338,201) remains one of the most consistent performers in the lifestyle and wellbeing category.
Lower down, Australian True Crime (No. 20, 261,809) and It’s A Lot with Abbie Chatfield (No. 21, 260,114) continue to trade places in the true crime and personality space, both drawing loyal, high-engagement audiences despite a crowded genre.
Rankings coverting to ad dollars
High ratings are one thing – but do they actually translate to ad dollars? Not necessarily, according to audio ad agency Oxford Road.
The company has unveiled what it calls the first-ever podcast leaderboard based on real sales outcomes, ranking shows by how effectively they convert listeners into customers.
The “ORBIT Top 15 Podcasts Measured by Ad Performance” draws from $1.6 billion in campaign data across hundreds of advertisers.
The findings flip traditional rankings on their head: while comedy still dominates locally, Oxford Road’s data shows that controversial content, particularly comedy and politics, delivers stronger ROI.
“Every other ranking tells you who has the most listeners,” said Oxford Road CEO Dan Granger. “We’re telling you which shows deliver ROI.”
Niche beats mass appeal
Big-name hits like The Joe Rogan Experience were nowhere to be found, with only three major shows cracking the top 15.
Instead, the #1 spot went to Critical Role, the Dungeons & Dragons podcast-turned-cultural phenomenon.
For advertisers, it’s a reminder that smaller, highly engaged audiences often deliver more value than mass appeal.