ORBIT

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. Subscribe to The Influencer for monthly ORBIT updates

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 See the Top 15 Performing International Podcasts from May 2026 See the Top 15 Performing True Crime Podcasts from April 2026 See the Top 15 Performing Independent Podcasts from March 2026 See the Top 15 Performing Sports Podcasts and Networks from February 2026 See the Top 15 Performing Self-Improvement Podcasts from January 2026 See the Top 15 Performing OG Podcasts from December 2025 See the Top 15 Performing Comedy Podcasts from November 2025   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