Apple’s recent alteration in the reporting of podcast listener numbers has caused concern within the audio industry. The tech giant discreetly implemented a change, disabling automatic downloads for users who have not listened to at least five episodes in the last two weeks. Consequently, this shift led to a significant decrease in listener numbers for some of the world’s largest podcasts.
Podcasts that have been consistently running and publishing episodes frequently were particularly affected by this modification. Previously, users who had subscribed to a podcast but stopped listening would continue to count as downloads indefinitely. Additionally, Apple automatically downloaded every episode in between for users who temporarily ceased listening but then resumed at a later time.
This arrangement accomplished two crucial objectives – maintaining high download numbers, which are vital for advertising sales, and providing an accurate depiction of a podcast’s reach. For example, popular shows such as The Daily and Dateline flaunted impressive billion-plus total downloads. However, it remains uncertain whether these figures are still accurate.
Privately, podcast creators have acknowledged witnessing noticeable declines in downloads and are now attempting to ascertain their genuine audience size. Major publishers and podcast networks were blindsided by the change, as it was implemented without any prior warning.
The impact of this alteration on podcast networks has varied. Some networks experienced a drop in downloads ranging from single to low double digits, while others reported declines as high as 40%. Industry insiders have described this change as an “enormous haircut” for nearly every regularly-published podcast.
Apple’s adjustment to the reporting of podcast listener numbers has serious ramifications for the audio industry. As podcasters scramble to determine their actual audience size, the long-term effects of this change remain uncertain.
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