Fans are spending significantly more time with Superbowl podcasts on Spotify after the final whistle than during the live broadcast itself, new data shows.
New Spotify data suggests that in 2025 sports podcast consumption in the lead-up to the Big Game rose 172% above the usual rate, but in the days following the event it jumped 358% above average as fans turned to audio to relive and unpack what they had seen.
This shift from passive listening to active engagement highlights how audiences are using podcasts to extend their connection to sport and culture long after the live broadcast has ended, the company says.
The trend underlines a broader move in how fans interact with sport content, with listeners increasingly choosing deeper analysis, reaction shows and cultural commentary over background audio.
For advertisers that compete fiercely for fleeting live-TV attention, this change presents an opportunity to rethink when and how they reach audiences.
Rather than focusing solely on interruptive ads during the game itself, brands can now look to the “afterglow” moment as a space where engaged listeners are actively seeking out content related to the event.
The data points to Spotify’s video-enabled podcast ecosystem as one environment where fan attention and brand recall can be extended well beyond kick-off.
Brian Berner, co-lead of advertising and global head of advertising sales and partnerships at Spotify, said that sports fandom “doesn’t start at kick-off or end at the final whistle anymore – it lives in the conversations that happen before and after the game. On Spotify, we see fans turning to podcasts to make sense of the moment and stay connected to the culture around sports.”
Additional insights from Spotify show the total number of followed shows has doubled in three years, with more than 34 million shows discovered weekly, and that loyal fans in the US stream nearly 20 times more of a show than casual listeners and are 2.5 times as likely to remain engaged after six months.
This shift in listening habits could prompt brands to allocate more of their Big Game budgets into post-event audio campaigns where listeners are primed for deeper engagement.
