PRISA Audio, a benchmark in the Spanish-language audio industry with 616 million downloads in 2023

For the third year in a row, PRISA Audio, the PRISA Media platform that integrates all of the Group’s digital audio production, has consolidated its position as the world’s leading Spanish-language audio producer and the second largest company in the world, behind the U.S. company iHeart Media. The data was published in Triton Digital’s Streaming Metrics Monthly Rankings, the benchmark in measuring the digital audio industry. In 2023 alone, PRISA Audio will have a balance of 616 million downloads and 1,053 million listening hours, representing an annual growth of 12% and 9.7% over the previous year.

In 2023, PRISA Audio will add more than fifty new podcasts to its catalog. Of all its productions, many are at the top of the weekly lists of audio aggregators: Nadie sabe Nada, Estirando el Chicle, Criminopatía and Titania are just some of them. These figures have allowed PRISA Audio to increase its revenues over the past year. In advertising, sponsored content, events and third-party productions, revenues have grown by 61% compared to 2022.

PRISA Audio was created in May 2021 as a commitment by PRISA Media to bring together the strategy and business of all the Group’s non-linear audio content: EL PAÍS, AS, Cadena SER, Podium Podcast, Cadena Dial, LOS40, as well as the Group’s stations in Latin America: W Radio, Caracol Radio, ADN Chile and Podium Podcast Chile, among others. The good results confirm the Group’s commitment to innovative and quality content as a reference in the sector. Carlos Núñez, Executive Chairman of PRISA Media, said: “PRISA Media’s strong commitment to digital audio is paying off. In just three years, we have become the absolute leader in this category in Spain and we have seen the success of podcasts as a new way to communicate and connect with our audiences”.

One of the main milestones of the past year was the birth of WePod, the project led by PRISA Audio together with nine partners from different European countries to promote the creation of cross-border sound content. Funded by the Creative European Project (CREA), WePod has a very clear objective for María Jesús Espinosa de los Monteros, CEO of PRISA Audio: “In the next two years, we will consolidate the cultural audio industry at the European level, not only with the creation of these 24 investigative journalism podcasts in five languages, but also with the development of the 'European Podcast White Paper’ to address the advantages and challenges of the industry in Europe, and with the creation of the first European association of audio professionals”. In addition to coordinating the project, PRISA Audio will be responsible for the executive production of the journalistic co-productions to be released in 2024 and 2025.

The branded podcast, on the rise

PRISA Audio continues its commitment to branded podcasts with creations in partnership with major companies. The Titania podcast, a co-production between Podium Podcast and Banco Santander, has become a success story. Manuel Bartual and Juanjo Ramírez Mascaró's fiction on cybersecurity stands out for its great reception by the public, with more than one and a half million downloads. It is also the first fiction and the first branded podcast to win the Ondas Award for Best Podcast. This spring, the first season will be released in English (the first time Podium has internationalized its content), and the long-awaited second season will also be released in Spanish.

Other PRISA Audio premieres with major brands include Road to Dakar, with Audi; Buena huella, with Naturgy; La Suma, with Novartis; Tu viaje empieza hoy, with Cabify; and El legado de Odette, with Banco Sabadell. In addition, the platform consolidates its collaboration with other institutions such as the SGAE and its podcast Vamos con todo, or the Spanish Association Against Cancer and the podcast El cáncer se habla, a creation that is part of the collaboration agreement between PRISA Media and the association.

2023 has strengthened PRISA Audio’s agreements with third parties. With Podimo in particular, it achieved great results with the new seasons of Malas Personas by Victoria Martín, the spin-off of Buenismo Bien and with premieres such as Polvo Eres with Nieves Concostrina, Bendita Terapia with Patricia Espejo and the investigative documentary Barçagate with the sports team of SER Catalunya. Spotify closed the seasons of successful podcasts such as El CaroLate (with Carolina Iglesias), Cuarto Millenial (with Andrea Compton and Lala Chus), Dentrísimo (with Manuel Burque) or Dile que baje (with Quique Peinado). In 2023, the podcast Ecos de Jorge Carrión was also released for the CaixaForum+ cultural platform.

The Group continues its commitment to Latin America. The production of content for the launch of Podimo Mexico stands out. Podium Studios and Radiópolis were present at the launch of this new market for the Danish company with six podcasts, originals and spin-offs, with great personalities such as Javier Risco, Omar Chaparro and Gabriela Warkentin, among others.

Podium Chile, with more than seven million downloads, has consolidated the Expertas en Nada podcast as one of the most listened to, which made the leap to live shows in 2023. Meanwhile, the investigative documentary on the death of young DJ Ana Cook, ¿Quién mató a Ana Cook, has already surpassed 790,000 downloads.

Videopodcast, the big trend of 2023

2023 saw numerous creations in the Group’s main audio divisions. Podium Podcast generated almost 53 million audio downloads in Spain, 11% more than in 2022. Of particular note were the premieres of the video podcasts A solas… con Vicky Martín Berrocal and Poco se habla. The first exceeded 3 million downloads and views with its first season, launched in September, and the second will premiere this February. Xuso Jones and Ana Brito’s podcast has reached 1.5 million downloads in its new season. These premieres are in addition to new video podcasts such as No hay negros en el Tíbet (with Asaari Bibiana, Thamine Lior and Fran T.) or Saldremos Mejores with Nerea Pérez de las Heras and Inés Hernand, with a 46% growth in downloads and views over the previous year. Last year, Podium also embraced long-form narratives, partnering with Las Raras, the Chilean production company of Catalina May and Martín Cruz, to launch its first narrative series, Te busco. Other narrative podcasts were Mujeres que corren, with Cristina Mitre; Familia de Libro, with Ana Solanes, or Delirios de España, with Juan Sanguino. Other consolidated podcasts such as Criminopatía, Estirando el Chicle, Arsénico Caviar, Las hijas de Felipe, La escóbula de la brújula and Aquí hay Dragones continue to be among the most listened to podcasts in the country.

Podium’s own fictions include the premiere of El Tigre and the second season of La Esfera. Podium’s agreement with Penguin Random House began with the launch of Tú eres tu lugar seguro, with psychologist María Esclapez, which in just 12 episodes has reached around 200,000 downloads and has not disappeared from the TOP10 of the Spotify ranking. In 2023, the “Podium Collection” was inaugurated with two books based on two podcasts: La firma de dios (Plaza y Janés), the publication of the scripts of the award-winning fiction by José Antonio Pérez Ledo, and Erwin, el gato cuántico (Beascoa), the children’s graphic novel by Manuel Bartual, based on a character from the sound fiction Biotopía.

Last year also left extraordinary data for the SER podcast, with more than 365 million downloads - 20% more than in 2022. Nadie sabe nada, by Andreu Buenafuente and Berto Romero, celebrated its 10th anniversary as one of the most listened to podcasts on El País. In addition, the video podcast by Sastre and Maldonado premiered to great public acclaim. There were also outstanding productions such as Inshallah with UNRWA, which received a mention in the Premios Ondas.

EL PAÍS had more than 23 million downloads of all its productions, 36% more than in 2022. In 2023, the weekend edition of Hoy en EL PAÍS was launched, thanks to the collaboration with Podimo, making it the only daily in Spain with episodes from Monday to Sunday. Audiences have been very receptive to both the Saturday episode, which brings together the three topics of the week for the newspaper, and the longer Sunday reports. In addition, several documentaries and informational series premiered: La vida en jaque, with Leontxo García; El enemigo. El crimen de la viuda de la CAM; La caída del Apóstol (for Podimo México) and Sin control. The Universe of Javier Milei. The latter, co-produced with the Argentinean production company Anfibia Podcast, was an unprecedented success in Argentina, with almost one million downloads in just four months.

AS Audio left in 2023 creations such as Los últimos de la lista and Mínimo de veterano, soccer and basketball content that have already become benchmarks. The audio division of the sports masthead has also released three documentary series: Paul Gasol, siempre un Laker; Imposible sin ellas, on the occasion of the Women’s World Cup, and the series of interviews with Real Madrid greats, Mi recuerdo de La Quinta, with Tomás Roncero. In 2023, LOS40 launched Principales de 40, its first documentary podcast, dedicated to telling the history of the most important music radio station in the country in the first person, through the memories and stories of its most outstanding and remembered professionals, such as Rafael Revert, Pepe Domingo Castaño, Tony Aguilar, Sira Fernández, José Antonio Abellán or Fernando Martínez “Fernandisco”, among others.

Global Podcast Ondas Awards

The good results achieved by PRISA Audio since its birth in 2021 are presented in a very favorable context in the Spanish audio industry. This is evidenced by the Premios Ondas Globales del Podcast, the awards promoted by PRISA Audio and Cadena SER, which celebrated their second edition last year to honor the best scriptwriters, producers and content creators. This is how María Jesús Espinosa de los Monteros, executive director of PRISA Audio, sees it: "2024 will be the year of consolidation for these awards, which will inaugurate a new venue after two years in the beautiful city of Malaga.

The Premios Ondas Globales del Podcast, the industry’s benchmark awards in Spanish, will be sponsored by Podimo in 2024 with a record number of nominations: 1,245, up from 1,178 in the last edition. The new venue and date of this third edition will be announced soon.