Goalhanger, the UK’s largest independent podcast company, has announced record-breaking downloads and views from May to July, driven by heightened global interest in its shows “The Rest Is Politics” and “The Rest Is Football.”
From May 22nd to July 5th, “The Rest Is Politics” and its companion show, “Leading”, hosted by Alastair Campbell and Rory Stewart, amassed 21.6 million combined downloads and full-episode YouTube views. The show’s prominence was further highlighted when Channel 4 included it in their General Election coverage, with Campbell and Stewart providing election night analysis to an additional 1 million viewers.
During the Euros competition from June 14th to July 16th, “The Rest Is Football”, featuring Gary Lineker, Alan Shearer, and Micah Richards, experienced a significant boost, with total downloads and full-episode YouTube views exceeding 19.6 million. The show also received over 66 million views across social media platforms during the Euros period.
Other shows in the Goalhanger lineup also saw impressive growth. “The Rest Is History,” hosted by Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook, released acclaimed series on ‘The Road to the Great War’ and ‘The French Revolution’ and announced a second book with Bloomsbury. “The Rest Is Entertainment,” hosted by Richard Osman and Marina Hyde, maintained a strong presence in the UK podcast charts, with most of Goalhanger’s titles consistently in the top 15 this year.
Tony Pastor, Co-Founder at Goalhanger, added, “The success of our shows proves that the so-called TikTok generation only wanting short-form content is a myth. Half of our audience is under 33 years old and enjoying long-form conversations between intelligent people, discussing everything from history to politics to sports and entertainment. In the build-up to the election, The Rest Is Politics went daily and attracted audiences north of 700,000 audio downloads an episode as people loved the insight of Rory and Alastair. We were able to be nimble, jumping onto YouTube and reacting quickly to breaking news, which proved massively popular with audiences. Similarly, on The Rest Is Football, Gary, Alan, and Micah were able to react to the games as fans and analysts, which viewers and listeners found hugely relatable.”
Gary Lineker, Co-Host of “The Rest Is Football” and Co-Founder at Goalhanger, said, “Hosting ‘The Rest Is Football’ during the Euros with Alan and Micah has been a blast. The fans’ response has been amazing, and it was fun sharing laughs, stories, and insights about the event’s highs and lows. Everyone has an opinion during a major tournament, but our listeners and viewers have shown they appreciate insightful discussion with a good bit of banter thrown in. Here’s to many more episodes as we approach the new Premier League season.”
Alastair Campbell, Co-Host of “The Rest Is Politics,” stated, “It fills me with hope that so many people tuned into our show across the General Election. Rory and I aim to fly the flag for balanced debate and real clarity amidst the constant noise of 24-hour rolling news, and we’re delighted to see our audience respond in such positive ways. While exhausting, ending the campaign as official co-hosts of Channel 4’s all-night election coverage, which concluded with a landslide victory for Labour, felt like a real milestone during a busy period for ‘The Rest Is Politics.’”
