Top Triathlon Podcasts of 2015: Ben Greenfield Reigns Supreme

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Kelly O'Mara

You know what, this makes me want to start a podcast.

Aaron Webstey

YES

JordanB

Yes... looks like we need more women in triathlon podcasts KOM... I will tune in!

5stickerrides

Fitter Radio? They're pretty good.

Shepherd

Soooo, Babbittville, TriSpecific, EndurancePlanet, MaccerX - they wouldn't share data? Hmmm, interesting. Fuckers.

andrewm88

I am glad you addressed the elephant in the room re: Ben Greenfield because my immediate thought was "100% not a triathlon podcast (and I'm going to bitch about it)" - I do think Ray has more direct relevance in that most of the content he discusses is directly relevant to triathletes, i.e. every product you guys discuss is useable for one or more elements of triathlon training whilst BG covers a much broader range of health topics: from reducing the chances Alzheimer's to breath holding via body building - that said I do quite like it and it gives food for thought and encourages me to think about eating healthier and making small changes to try and improve my day to day health and compliment training.

Thanks for doing this Ben - definitely some worth having a look at in here when I have a lull.. cheers!

Mark_after_Dark

In another universe, snakes take Ben Greenfield Oil.

Mark_after_Dark

Shepherd said:

Soooo, Babbittville, TriSpecific, EndurancePlanet, MaccerX - they wouldn't share data? Hmmm, interesting. Fuckers.

Babbitt has 500,000 downloads, but he has done 500,000 episodes.

Matt

It's Nielsen, not Nielson. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nielsen_ratings)

KBG

@jordan blanco @Kelly O'Mara you two should totally start a podcast

James Lange

I can't believe that there are so many triathlon podcasts that I've never heard of. Looking forward to checking some of them out.

eatpraylovenc

Where do these numbers come from because I know of a Triathlon Podcast with extensive downloads that isn't on this list and is above most of them on here?

TheActualPaulo

Dark Mark said:

In another universe, snakes take Ben Greenfield Oil.

This joke is so good that I'm pretty certain Tommy Zaferes wrote it.

Mark_after_Dark

@TheActualPaulo I have actually used that joke online before. Ben Greenfield is my favorite person to shit on. "Schmuck" is the word that most accurately describes him.


My favorite tweet about him is this:

https://twitter.com/_Dark_Mark/status/456614311368986625

Zach Miller

eatpraylovenc said:

Where do these numbers come from because I know of a Triathlon Podcast with extensive downloads that isn't on this list and is above most of them on here?

they might not of wanted to give their downloads numbers to Ben for the article, it seems like there were several podcasts not interested in giving numbers

Ben Hobbs

5stickerrides said:

Fitter Radio? They're pretty good.

Declined to participate. Did not respond to emails. Did decline via twitter.

Ben Hobbs

eatpraylovenc said:

Where do these numbers come from because I know of a Triathlon Podcast with extensive downloads that isn't on this list and is above most of them on here?

Which podcast are you referring to?

If you read even the first paragraph of the article, you would know that these numbers were voluntarily submitted by the podcasters. Your favorite podcast was most certainly contacted and given the opportunity to participate.

Ben Hobbs

I like Bob Babbitt. This is not meant to be a criticism. However, people are giving me shit, so let's do the math.

In recent episodes, Bob said that they now have over 800k total downloads. Check out the archives. I'm too lazy to count al of the episodes, but there are 12 pages of shows with roughly 20 shows on each page.

http://www.babbittville.com/category/babbittville-radio/page/11/

800,000 / 240 = 3,333 downloads per episode.

Brett with Zen and the Art of Triathlon gets more downloads per show.

Bob is not in the Top 5.

Ryan Heisler

Curious, @Ben Hobbs what the numbers would be like if we included the numbers from Bob's YouTube channel. And then of course there's the number of folks who stream and don't download...

Anyways, I digress. Comparing downloads to downloads, you're definitely on point.

M_Ware

Dark Mark said:

In another universe, snakes take Ben Greenfield Oil.

I made it through 5 minutes of the latest episode. BG is no BH. Way too much of a Rich Roll vibe for me. I'm with @Dark Mark on this one. I'd rather listen to TRS re-runs.

Ben Hobbs

Ryan Heisler said:

Curious, @Ben Hobbs what the numbers would be like if we included the numbers from Bob's YouTube channel. And then of course there's the number of folks who stream and don't download...

Anyways, I digress. Comparing downloads to downloads, you're definitely on point.

Very few of his interviews (Kona, TBI, and a random event or two) are both YouTube'd and podcasted. It may give him a slight bump in numbers, but not significant in my estimation. Do the math if you'd like. YouTube stats are readily available.

Your comment about streaming versus downloading is loaded and based upon a false premise. Let me explain. A podcast is hosted somewhere. I host on Libsyn. If a listener streams my show from my website or their podcast player of choice (overcast, downcast, stitcher, etc) Libsyn stats will count that as a download.

In other words, my host (Libsyn) doesn't differentiate between a stream or a download. It all counts as one download. No matter how many times I download or stream from my phone, Libsyn will count that as one unique download.

If we start talking abut how Libsyn tracks a download versus how Soundcloud tracks a "play" we could really start splitting hairs. Lisbon is certainly more accurate. For the purposes of this article, I didn't split hairs.

Lisbyn stats are highly reliable and most serious advertisers who pay real money to buy ads on podcasts will demand Libsyn stats or something very similar.

Ryan Heisler

Thanks for the clarification in re: Libsyn. Soundcloud has been my reference point, and as you've mentioned it's less reliable than the data you've used.

Carry on.

anthonytoth

Do people listen to Bull shit to feel that it's out of their own control and therefore feel better about themselves and lack of commitment and self control. Or are there that many stupid people?

keep up the good podcasting Ben I listen to it well training and playing sports with my 18 month old so if he learns to swear it's your fault not mine.

jakesaunders

I'm #sworry if this is basic knowledge or has been discussed somewhere else, but what are some reasons podcasts wouldn't want their numbers revealed?

I think being part of the article would only aid their numbers, even if only by a few listeners stumbling over out of interest.

Is the triathlon/endurance sport podcast industry that secretive and competitive?

Aaron Webstey

I am far from a podcasting expert, but my guesses:

- don't know how to get the numbers offhand and too busy/lazy to figure it out
- numbers are less impressive than they'd like, trying to keep up appearances and/or avoid embarrassment

?

Ben Hobbs

@AaronWebstey your first guess is totally untrue. It's easy as pie. Depending on the service, it may not be accurate, but it's something that takes 2 seconds to check and I promise you everyone is checking all the time.

Agree with your second guess.

Another would be that you are bullshitting a sponsor or your audience about your numbers and don't want to be caught in a lie.

Another reason would be that you dislike or distrust me. That is probably the case with MaccerEx. I'm pretty sure the Octane Athletics guys hate me, but they were smart and saw this as an opportunity to market themselves to people who listen to podcasts. I hope they pick up some listeners.

M_Ware

"Ben Greenfield Reigns Supreme" really? Really? Who the hell listens to that fuck-wit? On Tuesday I tried to listen and only made it through 5 minutes of him. I tried again tonight on the way home. I lasted 24 minutes. At that point I felt like that Bill O'Reilly clip BH posted the other day, except more hostile. Off to listen to Ben and Ray to restore my soul.

Mike

One of my favorites is "Endurance Planet". They cover mostly tri, but talk a lot about ultra-running as well. I'm actually surprised she didn't make this list.

Ben Hobbs

Mike said:

One of my favorites is "Endurance Planet". They cover mostly tri, but talk a lot about ultra-running as well. I'm actually surprised she didn't make this list.

She was invited and probably had good numbers. Unfortunately, she declined to publicize her numbers.

stravafred

Top podcasts for my money (that i don't pay): 1a) TRS 1b) ZenTri 2) Endurance Planet 3) IMTalk 4) Trail Runner Nation