February 2026: Top 5 Sports Podcast Networks

Note that our top network (Good Karma Brands, AKA ESPN) didn’t meet the criteria for the show list ranker, but in aggregate, ESPN’s smaller shows drove consistently great performance for brands.

February 2026 ORBIT Insights

• Niches get Riches. 67% of our top shows came from niche sports. It makes sense. For a general NFL show, listeners spread out across all the options. For niche shows, the community rallies around a single host and feels a greater affinity. That closeness means acting on host recommendations more often.

• Motorsports are in pole position. Accounting for over a quarter of our Top 15 shows, the motorsports genre is impossible to ignore. More importantly, it’s one of the most reliable seasonal performers. Unlike the short-lived spikes of The “Big Game” or March Madness, motorsports delivers sustained momentum over an 8-month season. Brands have the opportunity to stay top of mind for a deeply loyal fanbase, not for a weekend, but for most of the year.

• Fantasy, Meet Reality. Fantasy sports is a performer, but not when you think. The NFL off-season delivers 2.4x in-season performance. Why? There’s less crowding in the ads, but hardcore fans still listen. Our tip: buy Feb-Aug for efficiency. Then buy Sep-Dec when you want to prioritize efficiency for reach.

• Rituals Win. Daily sports podcasts placed #1 and #2 in our show rankings. That’s not a fluke. There’s a baked-in advantage in daily formats. Audiences need to tune in fast, or the perishable content will be irrelevant. Advertisers score through frequent ads and can even flight sequential messages. Buy daily shows at a higher frequency to reap the benefits.

• Get in the Game.  Participatory sports (golf, fantasy, and hunting) make up a small fraction of the total sports media landscape, but grabbed 45% of the top 15. Best bet: listeners looking to learn are leaning in and ready to act. Compared against more passive shows (general NBA commentary, for example), the response rate split makes sense. Remember, these shows aren’t just entertainment; they’re helping the listener improve their skills. That deeper engagement in the content means deeper engagement with the ads.

Unlock past ORBIT rankings and insights

How ORBIT Works (And Why It’s Different)

ORBIT normalizes performance across different advertiser goals, whether that’s target CAC, desired ROAS, or cost per qualified lead. This allows direct comparison across campaign types, something download-based rankings can’t provide.

The difference:
Many tracking tools tell you who’s advertising and estimate spend, count ad occurrences, or measure downloads and reach.

ORBIT shows which podcasts made money and which ones didn’t.
We factor in what advertisers paid, what they were trying to achieve, how it was measured, including survey-based attribution data, and whether the investment delivered ROI. That’s the difference between counting impressions and measuring profit.

Our methodology:Minimum 3 distinct advertisers per show

• Minimum 3 paid drops per advertiser
• At least 50% of placements must exceed advertiser goals
• 12-month rolling analysis updated monthly
• Attribution-normalized across pixels, codes, URLs, and modeling

For Advertisers

ORBIT eliminates guesswork from podcast planning:

• De-risk initial buys by seeing which shows have proven track records with similar advertisers
• Optimize faster with normalized performance data across attribution models
• Find hidden gems before they become expensive tier-1 shows
• Break category assumptions with data that shows where your customers actually listen
• Scale with confidence, knowing which placements consistently deliver ROI

The era of buying podcast ads based on download numbers is over. ORBIT shows you which shows drive performance, before you spend a dollar.

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