Before January 2020, podcasts had been growing at a steady clip each year since their conception in 2007. The period from 2015 to 2019 saw the largest expansion of podcasts, but the pandemic boom that arrived in 2020 dwarfed the previous four years combined. The rapid decline in new show creation appears to be focused on one-off shows, too. According to data from Listen Notes new episodes haven’t declined to the same degree.
Source: Where Did All the Podcasts Go? — New Show Creation Down 80%