Transistor downloads: how to view and compare them

Transistor downloads are available inside the Analytics page for your podcast. Sign in and select the correct show. Open Analytics, then choose a view that matches the question you need to answer. Use Transistor for host-level delivery data, then use Apple Podcasts or Spotify for engagement that happens inside those apps.

Transistor's own podcast analytics overview describes views for average episode downloads, popular episodes, listening apps, and listener locations, while the same documentation explains why a host cannot see every in-app action after it delivers the audio.

How to see Transistor downloads

1. Sign in to Transistor and select the podcast you want to review.
2. Open that show's Analytics page.
3. Start with the download view that fits your decision. For a release review, use the episode-level view rather than the account-wide total.
4. Match the episode age before comparing releases. Transistor documents average-download windows for the first 7, 30, 60, or 90 days after publication.
5. Save the date range, episode names, filters, and date checked with your notes.

The fixed-age windows matter. An older episode has had more time to receive requests, so comparing a release after 30 days with one after 7 days mostly tells you that one has been available longer. For a broader reporting routine, use our Transistor analytics guide and how to track podcast analytics.

Choose the right Transistor view

Use the account-wide trend when you need to see whether delivery is moving over time. For a title, guest, format, or release, use episode reporting. The listening-app breakdown shows which apps requested the audio, while location reporting shows the geography inferred from those requests.

Transistor also estimates subscribers from early download activity because podcast apps generally do not share a complete subscriber total with hosts. Keep the word estimated attached to that figure because it is not a direct count of every person who follows your show in every app.

The location table can be exported as CSV according to Transistor's current analytics overview. Before building a recurring export process, confirm that the specific report you need has the control you expect.

If the downloads look wrong

Work through these checks before changing your show.

Confirm the show and window

Multi-show accounts make it easy to open the right account but the wrong podcast. Confirm the show name, selected episodes, date range, and episode age, then remove any filter you did not intend to carry over from the previous review.

A release that is still collecting requests will move while you review it. Record when you checked the report. Compare episodes at the same age, and do not use an all-time total to judge whether the newest release started well.

Check what the other dashboard measures

Transistor defines a download as delivery of the audio file under its measurement rules. Apple Podcasts and Spotify expose their own plays, streams, listeners, followers, and engagement. These are not the same events. Transistor's download definition explains that delivery and consumption happen at different points.

That is why a Transistor total can differ from a listening-app total without either report being broken. If you need help naming each signal, read what is a podcast download?.

Check whether a prefix started recently

A third-party analytics prefix begins collecting after it is enabled. It does not recreate earlier requests. If a Podder series starts later than the Transistor series, compare only the overlapping period and keep each provider's historical baseline separate, as Transistor's third-party analytics comparison also notes that filtering, time zones, and blocklists can produce different totals.

If you use Podder with Transistor, follow the supported Transistor prefix installation guide rather than editing media URLs by hand.

Host downloads are not app engagement

A host can record that it delivered audio. It cannot automatically know whether the person finished the episode, skipped a section, or followed the show inside a listening app because those are different events with different owners.

Keep them in separate columns:

• Transistor downloads: host-level audio delivery under Transistor's rules
• Apple or Spotify engagement: behavior inside that listening app
• Podder reporting: delivery activity observed after the supported prefix is installed

Do not add those columns into one invented audience total. Use each source for the decision it can support.

Prevent confusing reports

Create one saved reporting note for every recurring review. Include the source, definition, episode-age window, filters, time zone, and any release context, and mark the date when a prefix or host changed so nobody compares across the break as if nothing happened.

A clean record makes a small difference explainable. It also makes a real technical issue easier to spot while keeping sponsor reporting honest about what was delivered and what was actually observed inside an app.

Ready to connect your Transistor show and start a fresh measurement series? Start with Podder Analytics.