Ever tried running a podcast by checking five different apps just to figure out how it's doing?

That's been the reality for a lot of creators. Downloads in one place. Video views somewhere else. YouTube subscribers here, TikTok followers there, Instagram numbers buried in yet another app. You end up with a spreadsheet that's more work than the podcast itself.

Acast just did something about that.

One Dashboard, Every Number

Acast has rolled out a new Analytics dashboard that pulls audio, video, and social data into a single screen. Creators can now see audio downloads, Apple Podcasts video views, and social followers from YouTube, TikTok, and Instagram all in one spot.

No more tab-hopping. No more copying numbers into a spreadsheet at 11pm trying to figure out if last week's episode actually landed.

I've built a few businesses over the years, and if there's one lesson that never changes, it's this: the time you spend hunting for data is time you're not spending making the thing better. Acast seems to have figured that out too.

Why This Matters Right Now

Here's the number that jumps out. According to Acast's Podcast Pulse 2026 report, 88% of podcast fans now consume both audio and video. A year ago, that figure was 78%.

That's a fast shift. Ten percentage points in twelve months isn't a trend, it's a stampede.

So if you're a podcaster still thinking of yourself as "audio only," the audience has already moved past you. People are watching clips on YouTube, catching bonus content on Apple Podcasts video, and following you on TikTok, all while still listening to the full episode in their car or on a walk. Your audience lives across formats now, whether you planned for that or not.

Which means you need a way to see the whole picture, not just the slice you're used to.

What's Actually Inside It

The dashboard breaks down who's listening by age, gender, location, listening app, and device. That's the kind of detail that turns a vague hunch ("I think my audience skews younger") into something you can actually act on.

Networks and creators running multiple shows can line up different programmes and episodes side by side. Spot what's working. Drop what isn't. Chase the trend before it goes cold instead of after.

There's also live estimates for daily performance, and a one-click download if you want the raw data for your own analysis. One thing worth knowing: social numbers come from public APIs, so they might not match exactly what you see on each platform's own dashboard. Close, but not identical.

The hosts of the I'm Grand Mam podcast were among the first to test it out. Their take: the platform is intuitive, everything's right there without feeling complicated, and the demographic breakdowns combined with episode-level consistency data gave them a depth of insight they hadn't had before.

That's the kind of feedback that tells you a tool was built by people who actually use the thing, not just people who designed it on a whiteboard.

What Changed, What Didn't

This new dashboard replaces Acast's old "Insights" section entirely, and it's included in every Acast plan, not locked behind a premium tier. That's worth noting. Good data shouldn't be a luxury feature.

Revenue tools like Realtime Earnings and Payouts stay exactly as they were for anyone with the Revenue Analyst role.

Why I Care About This

I didn't start out as a podcaster. I started out curious about how things work, and podcasting is one of those industries moving fast enough that if you blink, you miss a shift. Audio-only was the assumption for years. Now it's video-and-audio, almost overnight.

That's the pattern I keep seeing everywhere I travel and everywhere I work: the people who thrive aren't the ones with the most resources, they're the ones willing to adjust when the ground moves. Acast adjusted. The question is whether the creators using it will.

If you're making a podcast and still guessing at your audience instead of knowing them, this is worth a look. Data doesn't replace creativity. But it sure helps you aim it.

Source: PodcastingToday

Before this, we covered: Is iHeart Selling Its Podcast Business? Yes. No. Maybe.