# How many podcasts are there, really

Dataset behind the Podcastquery report of the same name.

Source: the Podcast Index feed dump dated 2026-08-16, 4,711,475 feeds, read in
full. Reference date for every "active" figure: 2026-08-16.

## Files

| File | Rows | What it holds |
| --- | ---: | --- |
| `buckets.csv` | 7 | every feed in the dump in one of six buckets, plus the Buzzsprout unknown |
| `buckets_by_cohort.csv` | 12 | the same buckets by start year, 2015 to 2026 |
| `buckets_by_host.csv` | 20 | the same buckets for the 20 platforms with the most feeds |
| `stub_patterns.csv` | up to 375 | the top 15 title shapes among one-or-zero-episode feeds, for each of the 25 largest platforms |
| `classifier_patterns.csv` | 20 | the patterns kept as sign-up defaults, with the count each matches |
| `cohort_2025_by_host.csv` | 20 | buckets for feeds that started in 2025, by platform |
| `spreaker_el_podcast_de_monthly.csv` | monthly | Spreaker feeds titled "El podcast de ..." by month, 2022-01 to 2026-08 |
| `spreaker_stub_authors.csv` | 30 | the itunesAuthor values behind Spreaker's stubs |
| `spreaker_stub_languages.csv` | 15 | language tags on Spreaker's stubs |
| `how_many.csv` | 7 | the headline count under each definition, with the public figures beside the definition each matches |

## Headline

95,121 of the 4,711,475 feeds, 2.02%, carry a
title the hosting platform wrote at sign-up and hold one episode or none.
76,139 more hold no episode at all and 892,068 hold exactly
one. 437,693 feeds, 9.29%, published an episode in
the 90 days to 2026-08-16.

## Method

See `METHOD.md`. Rerun with `python3 tools/report_stubs_facts.py`.

## Licence

CC BY 4.0. Attribution: Podcastquery, https://podcastquery.com.