Introducing TuneIn Rewind: 2021’s Most Popular Music, Sports, News & More
You don’t need us to tell you that 2021 was a big year. Between the great resignation and the current Covid-19 situation, to sports’ triumphant return and music’s hottest new artists — this was a year for the books, and for your ears.
At TuneIn, we bring you a lot of content. Between live sports broadcasts on TuneIn Premium, exclusive music stations for any mood, and top news networks right from your phone or browser, there’s a lot to listen to. And in 2021, listen you did! We dove deep into the numbers to get to the bottom of what you heard most and what defined the year. And we tied it all together in a neat bow with the new TuneIn Rewind.
Want to listen to the most popular content? Just head here. Want to learn more about what made the cut? Read on.
What Was the Most Popular Music & Radio of 2021
With many people still working from home and others returning to the commute, music and radio were necessary soundtracks to your day. For radio, the most popular stations streamed on TuneIn were:
The Top Radio Stations of 2021
- La Mega
- K-LOVE
- ESPN
- Air1
- KQED
- WHUR-FM
- BBC
- WNYC
- WQXR-FM
- RMF-FM
But it wasn’t just live radio. Listeners spun our curated music stations a lot, and that means 2021 brought us new artists that we just couldn’t get enough of.
The Most Popular Artists of 2021
- Olivia Rodrigo
- Ariana Grande
- Doja Cat
- Dua Lipa
- Lil Nas X
***FYI: The biggest day for music listeners on TuneIn was November 30th, 2021. Listeners couldn’t wait to get in the holiday spirit, so they streamed a whole stocking full of festive hits on our Hear the Holidays collection.***
The Most Popular Sports Events and Teams in 2021
2020 saw so many games and leagues postponed that sports fans were poised to make 2021 a massive year, regardless of what went down. Either way, between the triumphant return of the NHL, NFL, NBA, and MLB seasons, plus all of the College Sports that officially picked back up, there was a lot to love in the world of sports
2021’s Biggest Fanbases in Sports, by League
The NFL teams that got the most listening:
The NHL teams that got the most listening:
The College Football teams that got the most listening:
The Biggest Events in Sports for 2021
Naturally, with a year that saw so much action, there were bound to be some events that drew the most attention. Here are the five days with the most listeners, and a little about why they were so popular.
Dodgers @ Giants
Game 7 of the NLDS brought together one of baseball’s most intense rivalries for a winner-take-all showdown.
Buccaneers @ Patriots
Tom Brady — one of the best QBs to ever play the game — returned to New England to play against his long-time team for the first time since joining the Bucs.
Alabama vs Georgia
The first-ranked Alabama Crimson Tide took on the Georgia Bulldogs in a truly top-level SEC Championship game.
NFL Draft
This year’s NFL Draft saw an exciting new class of future A-list stars, with QB Trevor Lawrence going to Jacksonville for the first pick.
Duke vs Gonzaga
Any game with either the Duke Blue Devils or the Gonzaga Bulldogs is going to draw listeners. When you put them together, it’s next-level.
***FYI: The biggest day of listening for sports fans went down on October 11th with three separate MLB Postseason matchups lined up with Monday Night Football, all at once. Quite the monday night, right?***
The Biggest News Shows from 2021
The year was big for a lot of people, and the current events and headlines hold that true. Between the developments from the Covid-19 pandemic (with new variants and vaccine rollouts), the massive shift to working from home and the Great Resignation, events in 2021 affected everyone’s lives. And the News networks you love were there to cover it all. We crunched the numbers, and here are the top shows from each network, based on listeners.
- CNN: Inside Politics
- MSNBC: The Rachel Maddow Show
- FOX News Radio: The Brian Kilmeade Show
- CNBC: SQUAWK BOX
- Bloomberg: Bloomberg Daybreak
***FYI: The biggest day for news listening took place on January 6th, when a US Capitol protest turned violent. Listeners came back to their favorite network for minute-by-minute updates until the situation was resolved late into the evening.***
The Most Popular Podcasts from 2021
This year was the perfect year for podcast fans. Whether they were soundtracking their return-to-the-office commute or getting some fresh air on a daytime walk with their favorite shows, listeners turned to podcasts on TuneIn in a big way. Here are the top shows and episodes, based on listening hours.
The Biggest Podcast Episode of 2021:
Listeners soundtracked their Thanksgiving get-together with a whole spread of kid-friendly tunes, perfect for the whole family.
The Most Bingeable Podcast of 2021:
Listeners infused their day with a bit of fun with this hilarious, Spanish-language call-in variety show.
The Most Popular Podcast of 2021:
The show with the most total fans was the New York Times’ The Daily, bringing each day’s top headlines in a digestible, 20-minute show.
Editor’s Picks: The Best Things We Heard This Year, as a TuneIn Team
At TuneIn, we love data — and it was fascinating to see what content drew your ears and what events really made their mark. But we also wanted to take the time this year to vote for our favorite stuff, based on what we heard all year. And the results are…
TuneIn Editor’s Picks: This year’s breakout stars, according to us:
Favorite New Podcast Release
Favorite Radio Station New to TuneIn
Favorite Original TuneIn Station
Favorite Songs Given New Life
Favorite On-Air Personalities
TuneIn Editor’s Podcast Picks: Our favorite shows from each genre
- Sports: Skip and Shannon: Undisputed
- News: Up First
- Music/ Arts & Culture: The FADER Uncovered
- Comedy: Why Won’t You Date Me? With Nicole Byer
- True Crime: The Dropout
Check out the full TuneIn Rewind, right here.
