Success comes during Ashes series and Tour de France

Wisden Cricket Podcast

The Sport Social Podcast Network has revealed that the popularity of the Ashes and Tour de France drove a 96% growth in downloads of cricket and cycling podcasts from its network.

There were just over 1.5 million downloads of shows such as The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club, Wisden Cricket Weekly, and Storylines: The Women’s Cricket Show by The Analyst in April and May, and for June and July this had almost doubled to just over three million. 

There are now eight million monthly downloads across the entire network.

Geraint Thomas Cycling Club podcast

The Geraint Thomas Cycling Club, created by Crowd Network, capitalised on the Tour de France by launching a series of special episodes in celebration of the competition, including commentary and day-by-day recaps of the Tour. It also included appearances from competitors, giving listeners exclusive interviews and behind-the-scenes access to the event.

Meanwhile, Wisden and The Women’s Cricket Show produced episodes dedicated to expert analysis, highlights, opinions and debates inspired by the Ashes while it ran.

The Women's Cricket Show

Stefan Doyle, head of the Sport Social Podcast Network, said: “The recent increase in downloads that we’ve seen for our cycling and cricket podcasts specifically, during the Tour de France and The Ashes, shows the power of podcasting when it comes to giving fans more of what they love.

“Audio is a space that provides people with an opportunity to soak up every second of a major competition, and it’s clear there is growing appetite from fans and listeners to interact with their favourite sports via podcasts. We’ve built a captive audience of cycling and cricket fans across these verticals, and this means there’s real opportunity for brands and rightsholders too, to reach new fans whether through advertising or partnerships with the podcasts directly.

“People aren’t just engaging with their favourite sports simply through TV or radio anymore. They want to be part of every conversation and the buzz that surrounds huge events. Podcasting is an ideal medium to do that, from official shows or something grassroots, and produced by fans themselves. It’s an exciting space to be in.”