YouTube has launched a new chart of the top 100 most viewed podcast series and would you believe who is at number one?

YouTube has launched a new feature so logical it’s hard to believe it wasn’t there until now. They now have a podcast chart, tracking the top 100 podcast brands in the US. The chart updates each week, ranking shows by their watchtime .

The chart will only include playlists that are “designated as ‘podcasts’ by the creator”. This means that popular clips and YouTube Shorts won’t help a podcasts placement in the chart.

With more than 1 billion people tuning into podcasts on YouTube each month, this new chart will present a better view of the podcasts that are really dominating the world. Compared to Spotify’s 100 million regular podcast listeners, YouTube’s chart presents the most defining leaderboard of podcast popularity.

And who tops the chart? The Joe Rogan Experience is of course at number one. Following Rogan is the Kill Tony podcast, although the chart doesn’t include weekly statistics to show the difference in popularity between the two series.

The chart simply shows the order of podcasts by their popularity, rather than getting into the nitty-gritty of their weekly views. Whilst it seems an omission, Spotify recently dialled back on their recent addition of playcounters for podcast episodes. The feature faced backlash from podcasters, who said it might turn off viewers if they see minimal views on a playlist.

Response to the chart has been mixed, with some users upset to find voices they disagree with high up in the leaderboard. Others commented that they would rather YouTube update their notifications for new podcast episodes before working on charts.

For now, YouTube’s podcast chart only counts watchtime from the United States. However, YouTube Podcasts product manager Steve McLendon wrote: “We’re building out more features and expanding podcast charts to additional regions.”