Even a top-50 podcast can fall out of the rankings in the YouTube era. What brands should learn

Dax Shepard's Armchair Expert was in Edison Research's top 50 US podcasts every quarter from 2022 through 2025. In Edison's ranking for the third quarter of 2026, it is No. 59.

One show slipping a few places would not usually be news. What makes this one worth a closer look is the explanation behind it, because it applies to every podcast, including the one your brand is making.

What the Q3 2026 rankings show

Edison ranks shows by weekly reach among US podcast consumers aged 13 and older. The top five did not move in Q3: The Joe Rogan Experience, Crime Junkie, The Daily, Call Her Daddy and SmartLess. Below them, there was plenty of movement:

• Dumb Blonde jumped 32 places to No. 17.
• Huberman Lab climbed from No. 22 to No. 13.
• Good Hang with Amy Poehler, which launched in March 2025, is now No. 18.
• StarTalk was the highest new entry, and five shows made the top 50 for the first time.

Good Hang launched in March 2025. Its episodes often top 1 million YouTube views, and it now ranks No. 18 in the US.

Why Armchair Expert slipped

Bloomberg's Ashley Carman asked Edison why. Research director Gabriel Soto told her the drop fits a larger trend: shows with a stronger YouTube presence are rising over shows that built their audiences on legacy podcast apps. He added that Armchair Expert's listeners use Spotify most, likely a result of Shepard's past exclusive deal there.

The YouTube numbers make the contrast clear. Carman notes that Armchair Expert's YouTube episodes usually draw well under 50,000 views, while Good Hang episodes often pass 1 million. To be fair to the show, platform is not the whole story. Carman also cites fans on Reddit who say they have tired of its repeated stories. Content still matters. It is just no longer enough on its own.

Read more: Apple Podcasts just lost its top-3 spot. Here's what actually beat it.

What brands should learn

Most brand podcasts will never chase the top 50. But the forces that moved these rankings work the same way on a B2B show with a few thousand listeners.

1. Reach now depends on being discoverable

A loyal feed audience keeps a show alive. It does not grow it. New listeners increasingly find podcasts through recommendations, search and clips, and YouTube is where much of that happens. Almost every show at the top now publishes video, and that is not a coincidence.

2. Distribution deals have a long tail

According to Edison, Armchair Expert's listeners still use Spotify most, which Edison links to Shepard's past exclusive deal there. Where you send your first listeners shapes where your audience lives for a long time. Before you sign any exclusive or limited-distribution arrangement, ask what it will cost you in discovery later.

3. Build for YouTube from the first episode

That means filming every episode properly, writing titles and thumbnails people will click, and publishing the full episode, not just highlights. It also means understanding how YouTube recommends podcasts, because recommendations are how YouTube puts your episodes in front of people who have never heard of you.

4. Keep the format fresh

Repetition wears audiences down, whatever the platform. Review your episode formats every season, retire segments that have run their course, and make sure each episode has a sharper angle than the last.

Want a podcast built to be found, not just followed? Talk to Poddster about producing a video-first show for your brand.