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Thought Leadership February 2026: Going for the Gold - ORBIT's Top Performing Sports Podcasts & Networks Aren't What You'd Think
The “Big Game” and Olympics have taken over February. But the truth is, Sports is a top genre year-round. To see what sports shows and networks are medalists and which have been left off the podium, we turned to ORBIT.

 

ORBIT (the Oxford Road Benchmark Intelligence Tool) isolates performance using actual campaign data from 500+ advertisers and $1.6+ billion in annual spend. ORBIT doesn’t care about vanity metrics; it only highlights the inventory that actually converts for advertisers.

 

February 2026 ORBIT Rankings

This month, we separate the sports hype from the quiet superstars. We focused on true sports networks where over half of their shows are sports-based, not just one runaway hit.

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. For the top 15 shows, there were more than a few surprises. Take a look, and we’ll break down how you can Moneyball the genre:

ORBIT Top 15 Performing Sports Podcast
ORBIT Top 15 Performing Sports Podcast

 

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.

 

Subscribe to The Influencer for monthly ORBIT updates

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ORBIT: The Oxford Road Benchmark Intelligence Tool

Here’s What $1.6 Billion in Performance Data Actually Reveals.

The first podcast rankings based on ROI, not downloads. Built on real campaign results from hundreds of advertisers.

 

After more than a decade of development, Oxford Road is unveiling ORBIT: a first-of-its-kind Benchmark Intelligence Tool built on real campaign outcomes from across the industry.

ORBIT aggregates over $1.6 billion in verified podcast spend, across hundreds of advertisers and 120+ genres, then normalizes it into one question: What actually worked?

It doesn’t tell you which podcasts are popular. It tells you which ones drive ROI. Which ones convert. Which ones are worth the check you’re about to write.

October 2025 ORBIT Rankings

Below are the Top 15 Performing Podcasts in October 2025, ranked by advertiser results over the previous 12 months.
These are the shows that consistently outperformed benchmarks and delivered measurable ROI.

What ORBIT Reveals

• Big reach ≠ big results: Joe Rogan and most tier-1 mega-shows didn’t crack the Top 15. Only 3 of the top performers (20%) are household-name podcasts. Advertisers systematically overpay for reach while ignoring shows that deliver better returns.

• Comedy and politics dominate. 11 of the top 15 performers are comedy or news/politics shows—the exact categories many advertisers deliberately avoid due to brand safety concerns. Controversial content, when aligned with brand values, drives action.

• Stop buying your own industry. We tested it: Tech companies don’t perform better on tech podcasts. Finance brands don’t win on business shows. There’s no statistically significant lift from matching your industry to your genre. Your customers listen to the same shows everyone else does: comedy, true crime, politics. The genre silo is costing you discoveries.

• Faith-based shows overperform. Religious podcasts, particularly Christianity-focused content, rank in the top 6 genres for consistent ROI across multiple verticals—a finding impossible to surface without normalized, goal-based data

 

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.

“This is what happened when real companies spent real money. If you want to know which podcasts work, start here.”
— Dan Granger, CEO, Oxford Road

 

Subscribe to The Influencer for monthly ORBIT updates

george costanza