NYT’s ‘The Daily’ now reaches 2 million listeners per day

The New York Times’ popular podcast “The Daily” is continuing to grow. The news media organization this morning announced its show — which today is ranked No. 7 on Apple’s Top Charts for Podcasts — now reaches 2 million listeners per day, and has expanded to a staff of 17 people up from the four it had originally.

The news is notable as it sets a sort of bar of sorts for what a top podcast looks like, in terms of actual listeners.

The announcement, which was a part of The NYT’s presentation at today’s NewFronts, arrives at a time when podcasts are seeing a boom. According to one report, 2018 saw the biggest growth in the format since 2006. And in March, more than half of U.S. consumers listened to a podcast — the first time the total number had ever passed 50 percent.

One third of people listened to a podcast in the last month, said Edison Research in March, representing 90 million monthly listeners.

That leaves plenty of room for “The Daily” to grow even further, it seems.

In part, the surge of interest in podcasts is tied to consumer adoption of smart speakers — an area where The NYT has invested, as well. In addition to bringing “The Daily” itself to smart speakers like the Google Home and Amazon Echo, the company recently launched an Alexa flash briefing that draws on content from “The Daily,” and features its host, Michael Barbaro. It also launched several other Alexa skills, including an interactive news quiz and programming that ties to The NYT’s print edition.

Combined, The NYT’s podcasting efforts reach 7.13 million monthly users, according to Podtrac’s industry rankings for March 2019.

from TechCrunch https://tcrn.ch/2WcE4n9