The most listened podcasts in 2021

The podcast is the star medium of 2021! And it is since a few years that the podcast rises in power and tends to become THE media of influence. We've put together a list of the 20 most listened-to podcasts in France in 2021.

Summary of the most listened to podcasts in 2021:

1. Top 20 most listened to podcasts in France in 2021
2. The key figures for 2021 on podcasts
3. An update on podcast advertising

In 2021, the CPMA welcomed 122 new podcasts to the French podcast rankings; the number of podcasts now stands at 278. Also in 2021, the CPMA monitored and certified 181 million podcast downloads of which 141 million were in France.

Here are the top 20 most listened to podcasts in France for the year 2021:

The podcast Culture Générale des Choses à Savoir is once again at the top of the podium of most listened to podcasts in 2021 according to ACPM figures.

In second place is the podcast Transfert from Slate with more than 745 thousand listens in France. Transfert gains one place compared to the year 2020. Every week, this podcast tells a true, exciting, gripping, moving story by couples who give themselves up in complete intimacy.

And in third place was the podcast Source Code by Le Parisien with over 575,000 listens in France. Stories in the news told by Le Parisien journalists, and by those who have experienced them directly. Code Source is a podcast presented by Jules Lavie, with reports by Clawdia Prolongeau, from Monday to Friday, to be listened to from 6pm.

>>> See the top podcasts of 2020

Médiamétrie has released a study on podcast listening in 2021. We'll show you the key figures for this year, which will be rich in podcast downloads!

The figures to remember :

• 15 million podcast listeners per month: +20% vs. 2020
• More than 13 million French people listen to podcasts broadcast by the radio: +15% vs 2020
• 5.8 million people listened to podcasts offered by other publishers: +81% vs 2020

Young people aged 15 to 34 are the ones who listen to podcasts the most in 2021! Médiamétrie indicates that their professional situation corresponds to CSP+ (executives, company managers, etc.).

New prescribers! Indeed, through their parents, children also listen to podcasts: 68% of parents have their children listen to podcasts.

According to a study by Acast, podcasts account for 60% of advertising investments.

Sectors with the highest investment in podcast advertising in 2021:

• IT and technology: 14%.
• Banking and insurance with 11%.
• BtoB with 10.6% of investments
• Culture and leisure: 10.5%
• Food and beverages with 9%.

The most popular podcast advertising formats are: 

• 60% audio spots
• 36% sponsorship
• 4% co-branded episodes

>>> Learn more about podcast advertising formats

The most successful podcasts by Médiamétrie

Médiamétrie gives us the top 5 most listened-to publishers per month in 2021:

1. France Inter with 45.6 million of listens/downloads
2. France Culture has 36.1 million of listens/downloads
3. RTL has 28 million of listens/downloads
4. RMC with 26.7 million of listens/downloads
5. Europe 1 in fifth place with 18.2 million of listens/downloads

And here are the top 5 podcasts per month in 2021:

1. Les Grosses Têtes: 17.1 million
2. L'After Foot: 15.5 million
3. Hondelatte raconte: 11.7 million
4. Par Jupiter: 7.7 million
5. Affaires sensibles: 5.4 million

>>> Making an ad for one of Radio France's podcasts

"The figures for 2021 confirm the positioning of the podcast as the new medium of influence and proximity on which advertisers can rely," explains Yann Thébault, Managing Director of Acast France and Germany.