The Nine Podcast Network has hit a new record, with a monthly audience of 1.7 million listeners in May 2023.

This milestone comes off the back of substantial growth across the media operator's various podcast categories.

Nine's talk stations, including 2GB, 3AW, 4BC, and 6PR, have experienced 51% year-on-year growth in their catch-up podcasts. Meanwhile, Nine's original podcasts have seen a 19% uplift in key categories such as News, Sport, and Business, with Investigative Journalism.

One standout success story is 'Hannah’s Story', an investigative podcast that has garnered more than 600,000 downloads since its launch in May. As of June 23, it was the number one ranked show on both Apple and Spotify’s podcast charts.

Nine’s news podcasts also demonstrated significant growth, with over 400,000 listeners in May, marking an increase of 143% year-on-year. The network's sports podcasts attracted more than 377,000 monthly listeners in May 2023, with 'The Billy Slater Podcast' and 'Stories of Origin' documentary series proving popular among footy fans.

The 'Eddie and Jimmy' podcast also made waves, attracting an additional 100,000+ viewers to the video podcast on 9Now and Youtube throughout the season.

Mia Stern, Nine’s Head of Podcasts, commented on the network's success.

"Australians are finding new ways to connect with their favourite media personalities, passion points and in-depth storytelling through podcasts. The diverse brands, platforms and content within Nine provide our advertisers with great reach at scale, via powerful local storytelling and connections. This is a premium experience for listeners and marketers alike," she said.

The data, sourced from Triton Streaming, Podcast Metrics, and YouTube Analytics, illustrates the growing popularity of podcasts among Australian audiences.