The Biggest Podcasts in Latin America & Spain

_{La Cotorrisa: Image from Instagram}

Suscribe to Genuina’s newsletter to find out the latest of Latin America’s podcasting industry

‍
Two weeks ago, we received some exciting news: Spotify quietly launched a new feature allowing users to view the number of followers for each podcast. This feature has sparked considerable interest, particularly in the comparison of podcast sizes, notably with Joe Rogan's podcast standing out prominently. For more detailed insights on this, I recommend checking out Ashley Carman’s article on Bloomberg.

As Carman points out, assessing a podcast's size solely based on Spotify followers comes with several caveats. Many podcasts also enjoy significant followings on platforms like Apple Podcasts and YouTube. Therefore, to make a comprehensive assessment, one must consider data from various platforms.

Upon reading Carman’s article, I was particularly excited, especially considering that Spotify is the predominant audio platform in Latin America and Spain, as highlighted in our State of Podcasting in Latin America Report. Consequently, this new feature could serve as a reasonably accurate proxy for a podcast's size in Latin America and Spain.

Inspired by this development, I’ve curated a list of some of the most prominent podcasts in Latin America and Spain, drawing directly from Spotify's top charts and other relevant sources. If you think I might have missed one, please email me here.

For clarity, I've categorized these podcasts into Hispanic America, Brazil and Spain. 
‍

Disclaimer: You won’t find every podcast

The new follower count feature on Spotify does not cover all podcasts, and according to my research, especially those hosted on certain platforms such as Acast or published by specific networks like Podium Podcast and SER Podcast. Consequently, many significant podcasts are currently excluded from this feature. 

For instance, notable podcasts like Se Regalan Dudas, TED en Español, El Hilo, and Hermanos de Leche in Latin America, and Nao Inviabilize in Brazil, along with Nadie Sabe Nada and Poco se Habla! Briten y Xuso Jones in Spain, are among some of the big podcasts for which we have no visibility.

Another thing to remember is the difference between followers and downloads, as not all followers tune into every episode. Therefore, our comparison doesn't measure podcasts based on download numbers.

Now, let’s dig in.
‍

Hispanic America
‍

La Cotorrisa (Mexico) is the biggest Spanish-speaking podcast with 2.8 million followers in Spotify, followed by Psicología al Desnudo (Argentina) with 2 million.

Brazil
‍

Podpah is the biggest Brazilian podcast on Spotify with 1.6 million followers, followed by Cafe Com Deus Pai with 1.2 million followers. 

‍

Spain
‍

Entiende Tu Mente is the biggest podcast in Spain with 2.1 million followers, followed by El Podcast de Marian Rojas Estapé

‍

LATAM and Spain 
‍

La Cotorrisa is the biggest podcast in LATAM & Spain, followed by Entiende tu Mente. 

‍

LATAM and Spain compared to the US
‍

When compared with the top-tier US podcasts on Spotify, La Cotorrisa secures the 8th spot, boasting a larger audience than The Daily podcast.
‍

Takeaways

‍
Regional Preferences

   - It's evident that each region has its own podcasting preferences. For instance, La Cotorrisa in Mexico and Entiende Tu Mente in Spain are the most followed podcasts, indicating a strong interest in comedy and mental health topics, respectively.

   - In Brazil, podcasts like Cafe Com Deus Pai are among the most popular, suggesting a preference for religious and spiritual content.

Language Learning

   - There's a significant presence of language learning podcasts in LATAM, such as Inglés Desde Cero and Relatos en inglés con Duolingo, highlighting a keen interest in improving English proficiency among Spanish speakers.

Categories

   - The list encompasses a wide range of categories, from true crime (Caso 63 and Asesinos seriales) to fiction/horror (Paranormal) and educational/Self-Help (Psicología al desnudo and Autoconsciente Podcast). This diversity reflects the varied interests of podcast listeners across these regions.

Presence of Established Podcasts

   - Established podcasts like Nerdcast in Brazil and Wild Project in Spain maintain a strong following, highlighting the importance of consistency and quality content in retaining listenership over time.

‍

Podcasts in Latin America are a growing medium and by 2027, there will be more podcast listeners in the region than anywhere in the world. If you wish to find out more about Latin America or Hispanic podcasting, reach out to us at hello@genuinamedia.com

‍

‍