This list features podcast-only awards focused on specific industries and subject areas, including sports, health, politics, marketing, comedy, and higher education.

Active Awards

1. Sports Podcast Awards

An international awards program for sports podcasts, combining an industry jury with a fan vote.

• Categories: 22 categories including:
  • Best Combat Sports Podcast
  • Best Motorsports Podcast
  • Best Olympic and Paralympic Podcast
  • Best Sports Business Podcast
• Entry fee: Free for independent podcasters in the 2025 cycle. Major networks paid $150 per podcast, capped at $300 for multiple submissions.
• Year founded: 2022.
• Presented by: Sports Podcast Group. Sport Social Podcast Network is listed as headline partner.

2. Parapod Podcast Awards

Awards for podcasts about the paranormal, UFOs, true crime, and other unexplained topics.

• Categories: 15 competitive categories plus 4 special honors, including:
  • Best Ghost / Haunting Podcast
  • Best UFO / UAP Podcast
  • Best Cryptid Podcast
  • Best Newcomer Podcast
  • Best True Crime Podcast
• Entry fee: $20 per category in 2026. Shows may enter more than one category. The fee was $15 in 2024.
• Trophy: 2023 winners received a custom ParaPod Award.
  • 2024 winners received a ParaPod certificate and other prizes.
• When & Where: The fourth annual winners will be announced October 24, 2026.
• Year founded: 2023. The first awards were held April 1, 2023, at the Hyatt Regency Valencia in California.
• Founder: Tony Sweet. He has worked in podcasting since 2008 and has interviewed more than 2,000 entertainment, cultural, and paranormal figures.
• Presented by: The Earthly Beings Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

3. HigherEd PodCon Awards

A peer-judged program for podcasts produced by colleges, universities, and their students.

• Categories: 5 categories including:
  • Outstanding Student-Led Podcast
  • Episode of the Year
  • Podcaster of the Year
  • Outstanding Institutional Podcast Network
• When & Where: Winners were announced at HigherEd PodCon 2026 in Cleveland, Ohio, in July 2026.
• Year founded: 2026. The conference itself began in 2025.
• Founders: Joe Sallustio and Elvin Freytes of The EdUp Experience, Dean Hoke of Small College America, and Gregg Oldring and Neil McPhedran of Higher Ed Pods.
• Presented by: HigherEd PodCon.
• More Information: The first awards received 155 nominations, reviewed by 29 volunteer judges through blind peer review.

4. Golden Lobes

A comedy podcast awards night run by the Cheerful Earful festival.

• Categories: 17 categories including:
  • Beyond the Feed
  • Best Blooper
  • Behind the Scenes Hero
  • Best Tangent
  • Best Artwork
• Entry fee: £25 all in, or £20 for BCG Pro members. One fee covers one or more categories. Submissions are capped at five minutes.
• Trophy: A bespoke Golden Lobes trophy, plus partner prizes such as studio discounts and memberships, and a bottle of fizz from The Clapham Grand.
• When & Where: The Clapham Grand, London, each May. The 2026 ceremony was held May 6.
• Year founded: 2025. The first ceremony was held May 7, 2025.
• Founder: Giles Gear, founder of Cheerful Earful. The festival was founded in 2022 and is operated by Giddy Aunt Comedy Ltd.
• More Information: The awards focus on comedy and entertainment but accept podcasts of any genre from anywhere in the world. So a blooper from a true crime show counts.
  • The Listener’s Lobe is the only prize decided entirely by public vote.

5. Political Podcast Awards

A Westminster-based program for UK political podcasts

• Categories: 9 categories including:
  • Best Newcomer
  • Independent Podcast of the Year
  • Interview of the Year
  • Most Original Format
  • Producer of the Year
  • Story of the Year
• Entry fee: Free.
  • Each category needs a separate entry form.
• When & Where: The 2027 ceremony is set for February 2, 2027. Nominations close October 16, 2026.
• Year founded: 2025. The first ceremony was January 29, 2025.
• Presented by: iNHouse Communications.
• More Information: The first year drew nearly 100 entries. Podcast of the Year went to The Rest Is Politics in 2025 and Political Currency in 2026.

6. MPN Awards

Awards from the Marketing Podcast Network, open to all marketing podcasts.

• Categories: 9 categories including:
  • Best Marketing Podcast
  • Best B2B Podcast
  • Best Independent Podcast
  • Listeners’ Choice Award
• When & Where: July 30, 2026, streamed live from London on LinkedIn and YouTube.
• Year founded: 2026.
• Founder: The network was founded by Jason Falls
• Presented by: Marketing Podcast Network. It describes itself as a not for profit community of more than 80 marketing podcasts.

Postponed Awards

7. Health Podcast Awards

A planned program recognizing credible health podcasts. Its first edition has been postponed.

• Status: Postponed.
  • They intend to announce the first honorees in early 2027.
• Entry fee: Free. The organizers have committed to no application fee.
• Year founded: 2026 (first submission window).
• Founder: Dan Kendall, founder of HealthPodcast.org.
• Presented by: Mission Based Media, which owns the Health Podcast Awards and HealthPodcast.Org trademarks.
• More information: More than 200 shows entered the first cycle. The organizers say each honored show will be recognized on its own merit, not ranked against others.

Discontinued Awards

8. Parsec Awards

An awards program for speculative fiction podcasts, long presented at DragonCon.

• Categories: Included categories such as:
  • Best Speculative Fiction Audio Drama (Long Form)
  • Best Fact Behind the Fiction Podcast
  • Best New Speculative Fiction Podcaster/Team
• When & Where: Presented at DragonCon in Atlanta from 2006 to 2017. The final awards, the 12th annual set, were announced online on December 17, 2018.
• Year founded: 2006.
• Founders: Mur Lafferty, Tracy Hickman, and Michael R. Mennenga.
• Presented by: FarPoint Media.
• More Information: In 2009 the awards were described as one of the most recognizable honors in science fiction podcasting.

9. Audio Verse Awards

A hybrid public vote and juried awards program for audio fiction.

• Categories: 27 categories in 2023, including:
  • Sound Design in a Production
  • Writing of a Scripted Production
  • Cover Art for a Production
• Entry fee: $25 per production since 2021. Fees cover operating costs and shows that cannot afford to enter. The remainder is shared equally among volunteers.
• When & Where: Online. Nominations have opened each September or October since 2013. Final voting for the 2024 awards ran through December 21, 2024.
• Format: a hybrid of juried ratings, a staff selected narrator award, and public vote awards ranked by a modified Borda count.
• Year founded: 2013.

10. Spark Media Podcast Awards

Awards for Christian and faith based podcasters, presented at Spark Media’s conference.

• Categories: 22 categories plus 4 Fan Awards, including:
  • Most Original Podcast Concept
  • Best Podcast Cover Art
  • Most Binge Worthy Podcast
• When & Where: The 2022 awards were presented at the third annual Spark Media conference, run with the National Religious Broadcasters. The 2023 awards were presented at the Spark Media Ignite conference in Houston.
• Year founded: 2020. The first Spark Media event was held a few weeks before the 2020 pandemic shutdown.
• Founder: Misty Phillip. She co hosts Spark Influence with her husband, Peter Phillip.
• Fun fact: The 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award went to Adam Curry, who also gave the keynote on the history and future of podcasting.