Podcasting has transformed dramatically over the last decade, evolving from a niche hobbyist medium into a dominant global industry attracting serious money and reaching the level of cultural influence that was once reserved for television and film.
Recent reports underscore the scale of the industry: There are now more than 4.5 million podcasts globally, with over 619 million listeners worldwide in 2026. In the U.S. alone, roughly 158 million people listen to podcasts each month, more than half of the American population. And the money is following the audience: U.S. podcast advertising revenue reached nearly $2.9 billion in 2025, growing at over 17% year over year. As NYU professor, entrepreneur, and podcaster Scott Galloway recently observed, “The fastest growing ad-supported medium in the nation is not Meta or Alphabet. It’s podcasting.”¹
The cultural prestige of podcasting also continues to rise. In January 2026, the Golden Globes awarded its first-ever Best Podcast prize, making it the first major entertainment award to formally recognize the medium alongside more traditional categories. Amy Poehler’s Good Hang took home the inaugural award. This is just the beginning. Like other media categories before it, podcasting will likely continue expanding from a single award to genre-specific awards (e.g., comedy, true crime, news, interview) and broader industry recognition.
As money and prestige flow into this space, podcast creators and networks will need to think carefully about protecting their brand investments. A podcast’s name is no longer just a clever title—it is a core business asset that drives discoverability, audience recognition, and sponsorship revenue.
I see this trend accelerating in my own trademark practice, with media clients increasingly treating their podcast names as valuable intellectual property. More creators are taking deliberate steps during the name selection process both to avoid liability and to secure names they can actively enforce. I also expect podcasters and networks to more aggressively seek to protect their marks with federal trademark registrations and to strictly enforce their rights against competitors as money becomes a bigger player in the space.
The foundation of this protective strategy begins with thorough trademark searching.
Why Trademark Searching Matters
Before investing time, money, and creative energy into building a podcast brand, it is essential to determine whether the name you want is actually available. Launching a podcast under a name that infringes someone else’s trademark can expose you to cease-and-desist demands, litigation risk, and the costly and disruptive need to rebrand (sometimes very quickly) after an audience has already been established. A conflicting name can also create significant obstacles when attempting to register your own mark with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), potentially resulting in refusals, delays, and additional legal expenses.
A relatively small amount of research on the front end can help avoid a great deal of trouble on the back end.
Starting With Your Own Research
Anyone can begin the search process on their own, for free. Start with what you already know. If you are active in a particular podcasting niche, you may already know of competing shows or podcast networks with names similar to the one you have in mind. Beyond your own knowledge, dedicated podcast search engines can be a valuable resource. Platforms like Listen Notes allow users to search across millions of podcasts by name, topic, and keyword, making it easier to identify direct conflicts before investing further in a potential name.
Sometimes the results of a preliminary search are clear-cut. If an active podcast already exists with an identical name covering the same or similar subject matter, that is a strong signal to save your resources and move on to another name.
Other situations are more ambiguous. There may be several podcasts with similar (but not identical) names, or existing shows that operate in adjacent categories where the risk is less obvious. Perhaps the subject matter of an existing show differs from yours in ways that may or may not matter from a trademark perspective. When the landscape is unclear, it is often worth consulting with an experienced trademark attorney who can help evaluate the risks and assess the likelihood of securing a registration.
The Next Step: Professional Searching by an Attorney
If a podcast name survives your initial “self-help” screening, the next step to consider is a more thorough trademark investigation.
Professional searches typically come in two tiers. A preliminary or “knockout” search is a relatively lower-cost option designed to identify the most obvious conflicts quickly. A comprehensive or “full” search casts a wider, finer net, examining federal and state trademark registrations, common-law sources (for rights based on use rather than registration), domain names, business directories, and other databases to uncover not only exact matches, but also similar names, phonetic equivalents, and alternate spellings of your mark.
Why go beyond a simple name-matching exercise?
Because trademark infringement does not require that the marks be identical. Infringement can occur when marks are merely similar and the underlying products or services are considered related. This is a critical point: Your podcast name does not have to be a carbon copy of another mark to create legal problems. It only needs to be close enough to create a likelihood of confusion among listeners.
Similarly, the underlying services do not need to be the same. They just need to be commercially related. The idea of “related services” can impact podcasters in ways many creators might not expect. In my own practice, I have seen trademark applications covering podcasts rejected based on prior registrations for traditional radio programs. Legally and commercially, this makes sense because almost all of today’s talk radio programs are now also offered as podcasts. As a result, the USPTO is more likely to treat podcasts and radio broadcasts (as well as other forms of media) as closely related services, and outside the USPTO, these traditional forms of media also pose a risk of liability.
An experienced trademark attorney can help identify and assess these less obvious risks and gauge the likelihood of obtaining a trademark registration. A lawyer can also advise on other legal issues that might hinder your ability to enforce or register a podcast name, such as whether a proposed name is likely to be considered generic or descriptive. Those issues matter because generic names may not be protectable at all, while descriptive names are often more difficult to enforce, rendering the trademark a weaker asset to build a business around.
Securing Your Brand in a Maturing Market
The excitement and energy in this new and growing field of media is undeniable. As podcasting continues to evolve from an experimental format into a primary pillar of the entertainment economy, the business practices surrounding it are also evolving.
Taking proactive steps early in the name selection process can help podcast creators take full advantage of this momentum, while minimizing the risk of costly infringement disputes, forced rebranding efforts, and registration obstacles. More importantly, it can help transform a podcast name into a valuable and legally enforceable business asset capable of supporting long-term growth.
If you need any help or advice navigating this landscape, you can contact me at wsavoy@outsidegc.com.
Wade Savoy is a Partner with OGC and focuses his practice on the rapidly changing intersection of law and technology. His genuine love and deep knowledge of the law, coupled with 25 years of experience and an intensely practical, business-oriented perspective, define his work helping clients achieve their IP-related goals.
1 Kash Patel Sues, Trump’s Psychedelics Push, and Netflix’s Podcast Bet, Pivot, episode 771, at 55:53 (Apr. 21, 2026) (hosted by Kara Swisher & Scott Galloway).