• by Fern Siegel , December 16, 2020

Spotify is enlarging its distribution of NPR podcasts.

Two years ago, Spotify added NPR to its U.S. offerings. Now, 26 shows in NPR’s lineup are available to stream globally, including “Wow in the World,” “Ask Me Another,” “Embedded” and “The TED Radio Hour.”

That makes NPR’s podcasts available to a global audience of 320 million Spotify users. Spotify is available on both iOS and Android.

Revenues will not be shared, nor will the respective entities sell ads together. Each will do its own marketing and promotional push to extend visibility.

In July, NPR reported more than 57 million people utilize its shows, radio or digital platforms, a 10% jump from 2019. Also, podcast downloads and NPR's apps are up 25% this year, with a 76% increase NPR.org users during the pandemic. While there was a 25% drop — Q2 2019 to Q2 2020 — in broadcast ratings during traditional commuting times, there was an uptick in listening-from-home content.

"We’re experiencing a sea change. We're not going back to the same levels of listening that we've experienced in the past on broadcast,” says Lori Kaplan, the network's senior director of audience insights said in July.

NPR is also making more money from podcast sponsorship than conventional radio. Last year, the network projected about $55 million in corporate sponsorship revenues from podcasts in fiscal year 2020.

When the initial alliance was launched in 2018, NPR’s Chief Marketing Officer Meg Goldthwaite said: “Podcasts can challenge you. They can change the way you listen to your world. Our audience numbers show that people crave that and want to access podcasts on as many platforms as possible."