Strong Performances from Four Daily Wire Podcasts Dominate Q1’s Right Wing Programs

“The Ben Shapiro Show,” “Jordan Peterson Podcast,” “Morning Wire” and “Candace Owens” All Shine in 2023’s First Quarter 

April 13, 2023, New York, NY – The Daily Wire network remained the dominant force in right wing podcasting, according to year-over-year (YOY) data from the podcast app Castbox that was analyzed by TheRighting.  Among the achievements of The Daily Wire’s podcast brands:

·      It had the top two podcasts by number of subscribers, “The Ben Shapiro Show” (521,530) and “The Jordan B. Peterson Podcast” (389,033).  

·      It had three of the fastest-growing right wing podcasts by percentage growth in Q1: “The Morning Wire,” “Candace Owens,” and “The Matt Walsh Show.”

·      Of the five right wing podcasts that added the largest number of new subscribers in Q1, four were produced by The Daily Wire. 

“The ‘Ben Shapiro Show’ remains a powerhouse even though its growth slowed by 20% from 2022’s fourth quarter,” said Howard Polskin, president and founder, TheRighting. “Nonetheless, the addition of 51,440 new subscribers in the first quarter is a remarkable achievement unmatched by any other right wing podcast.  One of The Daily Wire’s newest brands, ‘The Morning Wire’ is growing so fast, that at this pace, it is likely to become a top 10 right wing podcast by the end of the second quarter, vaulting over podcasting stalwarts like Megyn Kelly, Charlie Kirk and Ted Cruz.”

Top Right Wing Podcasts by Subscriber Growth

(total number of new subscribers added on the Castbox platform, Q1 2023 v Q1 2022):

·      “The Ben Shapiro Show,” 51,440 subscribers

·      “Morning Wire,” 11,730 subscribers

·      “The Dan Bongino Show,” 9,839 subscribers

Top Right Wing Podcasts by YOY % Growth

(percentage growth of new subscribers on the Castbox platform, Q1 2023 v Q1 2022)

·      “The Morning Wire,” 63%

·      “Candace Owens,” 51%

·      “The Matt Walsh Show,” 38%

“Bannon’s War Room,” which didn’t crack the top 20, nonetheless recorded a 23% YOY subscriber increase and ended the quarter with 15,074 subscribers on the Castbox platform. Donald Trump Jr.’s new podcast “Triggered,” which launched last quarter, garnered only 143 subscribers on the Castbox platform. 

Methodology

This report is based on data that is updated daily from the podcast app Castbox, which is the seventh most popular app on the podcast-hosting platform Buzzsprout.   Castbox represents 1.1% of all podcasts that Buzzsprout serves. No other leading podcast app besides Castbox makes its data available.

Worth noting: While “Bannon’s War Room” didn’t crack the top 20, it still generated a healthy 23% year-over-year increase in subscribers. “Triggered with Don Jr.” managed to capture only 143 subscribers on the Castbox platform during Q1.

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