Thursday is the new Monday for podcast producers. Analyzing hundreds of tech & VC podcasts over six weeks this fall through MotherDuck’s MCP server, I found 42% of episodes drop mid-week, between Thursday & Friday. Sunday? A publishing desert at just 3%.
Here’s what else the data reveals.
When Episodes Drop
Prompt: Count the number of podcasts published on each day of the week with %
The pattern makes sense : listeners consume podcasts during commutes & workouts early in the week, so publishing mid-week ensures fresh content when people are ready to listen.
Content Depth Varies Dramatically
Prompt: Calculate the average, minimum, & maximum word count of the podcast summaries.
The summary length is quite narrow. Between the 25th & 75th percentile, there’s only a paragraph worth of difference, suggesting the market has discovered an optimal length.
A Typical Podcast Releases At Least Three Episodes Per Month
Prompt: Show me the number of podcasts per month.
The median podcast releases three episodes per month. The outliers? Daily shows publishing multiple episodes per day.
If you’re thinking about launching a podcast, it’s probably worth testing releasing episodes on Sundays, perhaps early in the morning or around coffee time.
These types of analyses are becoming simpler & simpler with technologies like MCP.