May 2026: International Podcasting Isn’t One Opportunity, It’s Four.

International podcasting is one of the biggest opportunities in audio. But it’s not one market. And understanding that is the difference between a worldwide takeoff and never leaving the runway. For more, we turned to ORBIT.

ORBIT (the Oxford Road Benchmark Intelligence Tool) isolates performance using actual campaign data from 500+ advertisers and $1.8+ billion in annual spend. ORBIT doesn’t care about vanity metrics; it only highlights the inventory that actually converts for advertisers.

May 2026 ORBIT Rankings

ORBIT Top 15 Performing International Podcasts

May 2026 ORBIT Insights

Most podcast advertisers never leave the US. A few realize there’s a world outside it. The rare ones actually decide to do something about it.

For that third group? This month, we’re showing them exactly where to go.

Using ORBIT, we pulled real performance data from brands that have already paved the path internationally, so you don’t have to guess. Lowest-hanging fruit, mapped out and handed to you.

Four markets are ready for your budget right now: UK-English, Spanish, French, and German. Not one amorphous “international” bucket, but four distinct audiences with their own shows, publishers, and unwritten rules. A few tips to get started in each are below.

• Remember: International isn’t a destination, it’s a departure point. These are all markets worth expanding. Just as you wouldn’t buy a bucket of assorted international food and call dinner a success, your campaign isn’t done when you purchase a pile of international spots with no consideration.

• You’ll need to check your facts. A plan that works in one market won’t automatically work in another. (Europe alone has 24 official languages!)

• Sports mean football (the one where you use only your feet) and F1. The NFL does not travel… yet. (But remember from our sports analysis that the racing season is much longer, so consider that a plus)

• Note market differences and reap the rewards. Within UK-English, conversation and culture formats are showing a directional efficiency edge over sports.

And as always, if you need a well-traveled guide to lead the way, we’re happy to help.

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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