The Hollywood Reporter: 97/288 returned four-engine answers (33.7%; 95% interval 28.5–39.3%). The two leading intervals overlap; no sole leader is established.
RESEARCH
The Podcast Citation Effect: Entertainment
AI answers analyzed across ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity
of answers named The Hollywood Reporter, the most-named (97 of 288)
tracked sources named at least once (of 18)
of Google searches showed an AI Overview (67 of 68)
Version 2. This version replaces the first version of this study, first published June 25, 2026. It uses measured counts, so the two versions are not comparable. Version 2 asks 24 questions three times each on ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity (288 answers) and adds Google AI Overviews. Every rate comes with its count and a 95% interval.
What the data shows
The Hollywood Reporter
31/288 (10.8%)
27/72 (37.5%)
22/72 (30.6%)
17/288 (5.9%)
67/68 (98.5%)
16/67 (23.9%)
85/288 (29.5%)
0/12 (0.0%)
Appearance rate across 288 four-engine answers. The bar is the 95% confidence interval; overlapping bars cannot be told apart at this sample size.
Which sources AI engines name
| # | Name | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hollywood Reporter | 97/288 | 33.7% | 28.5–39.3% |
| 2 | Variety | 83/288 | 28.8% | 23.9–34.3% |
| 3 | The Town with Matthew Belloni | 60/288 | 20.8% | 16.5–25.9% |
| 4 | Deadline | 53/288 | 18.4% | 14.4–23.3% |
| 5 | Puck | 52/288 | 18.1% | 14.0–22.9% |
| 6 | The Ankler | 37/288 | 12.8% | 9.5–17.2% |
| 7 | IndieWire | 31/288 | 10.8% | 7.7–14.9% |
| 8 | TheWrap | 30/288 | 10.4% | 7.4–14.5% |
| 9 | The Big Picture | 18/288 | 6.3% | 4.0–9.7% |
| 10 | Pivot | 17/288 | 5.9% | 3.7–9.2% |
| 11 | The Watch | 14/288 | 4.9% | 2.9–8.0% |
| 12 | Decoder | 6/288 | 2.1% | 1.0–4.5% |
| 13 | Vanity Fair | 6/288 | 2.1% | 1.0–4.5% |
| 14 | The Bill Simmons Podcast | 4/288 | 1.4% | 0.5–3.5% |
| 15 | Press Box | 3/288 | 1.0% | 0.4–3.0% |
The full list
Own-domain citation is the share of 288 grounded answers that cited the tracked name's own domains (subdomains included). Citation share is of all 2,415 citations.
| # | Brand | Named in | Appearance rate | 95% interval | First mention | Own-domain citation | Citation share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hollywood Reporter | 97/288 | 33.7% | 28.5–39.3% | 2.5 | 3.8% (11/288) | 0.8% |
| 2 | Variety | 83/288 | 28.8% | 23.9–34.3% | 2.3 | 5.9% (17/288) | 0.9% |
| 3 | The Town with Matthew Belloni | 60/288 | 20.8% | 16.5–25.9% | 2.2 | 1% (3/288) | 0.1% |
| 4 | Deadline | 53/288 | 18.4% | 14.4–23.3% | 2.9 | 3.5% (10/288) | 0.5% |
| 5 | Puck | 52/288 | 18.1% | 14–22.9% | 2.5 | 3.1% (9/288) | 0.4% |
| 6 | The Ankler | 37/288 | 12.8% | 9.5–17.2% | 3.4 | 5.6% (16/288) | 0.7% |
| 7 | IndieWire | 31/288 | 10.8% | 7.7–14.9% | 5 | 3.1% (9/288) | 0.4% |
| 8 | TheWrap | 30/288 | 10.4% | 7.4–14.5% | 4.5 | 5.6% (16/288) | 0.8% |
| 9 | The Big Picture | 18/288 | 6.3% | 4–9.7% | 2.5 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 10 | Pivot | 17/288 | 5.9% | 3.7–9.2% | 1.5 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 11 | The Watch | 14/288 | 4.9% | 2.9–8% | 1.5 | 1% (3/288) | 0.1% |
| 12 | Decoder | 6/288 | 2.1% | 1–4.5% | 2 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 13 | Vanity Fair | 6/288 | 2.1% | 1–4.5% | 1.8 | 0.3% (1/288) | 0% |
| 14 | The Bill Simmons Podcast | 4/288 | 1.4% | 0.5–3.5% | 2 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 15 | Press Box | 3/288 | 1% | 0.4–3% | 1.7 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 16 | The Powers That Be | 3/288 | 1% | 0.4–3% | 3.7 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 17 | The Plot Thickens | 2/288 | 0.7% | 0.2–2.5% | 3 | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
| 18 | SmartLess | 0/288 | 0% | 0–1.3% | – | 0% (0/288) | 0% |
Question group: Podcasts and news
156 returned four-engine answers to this group's 13 questions. No pooled group leader is asserted.
| # | Name | Named answers | Rate | 95% interval | Named first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hollywood Reporter | 87/156 | 55.8% | 47.9–63.3% | 12 |
| 2 | Variety | 66/156 | 42.3% | 34.8–50.2% | 19 |
| 3 | The Town with Matthew Belloni | 52/156 | 33.3% | 26.4–41.1% | 24 |
| 4 | Puck | 51/156 | 32.7% | 25.8–40.4% | 11 |
| 5 | Deadline | 45/156 | 28.8% | 22.3–36.4% | 12 |
| 6 | The Ankler | 37/156 | 23.7% | 17.7–31.0% | 11 |
| 7 | IndieWire | 30/156 | 19.2% | 13.8–26.1% | 0 |
| 8 | TheWrap | 28/156 | 17.9% | 12.7–24.7% | 0 |
| 9 | The Big Picture | 18/156 | 11.5% | 7.4–17.5% | 6 |
| 10 | Pivot | 17/156 | 10.9% | 6.9–16.8% | 15 |
| 11 | The Watch | 14/156 | 9.0% | 5.4–14.5% | 8 |
| 12 | Decoder | 6/156 | 3.8% | 1.8–8.1% | 0 |
| 13 | Vanity Fair | 6/156 | 3.8% | 1.8–8.1% | 3 |
| 14 | The Bill Simmons Podcast | 4/156 | 2.6% | 1.0–6.4% | 1 |
| 15 | Press Box | 3/156 | 1.9% | 0.7–5.5% | 1 |
| 16 | The Powers That Be | 3/156 | 1.9% | 0.7–5.5% | 0 |
| 17 | The Plot Thickens | 2/156 | 1.3% | 0.4–4.6% | 0 |
| 18 | SmartLess | 0/156 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.4% | 0 |
Question group: Industry questions
132 returned four-engine answers to this group's 11 questions. No pooled group leader is asserted.
| # | Name | Named answers | Rate | 95% interval | Named first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Variety | 17/132 | 12.9% | 8.2–19.7% | 12 |
| 2 | The Hollywood Reporter | 10/132 | 7.6% | 4.2–13.4% | 1 |
| 3 | Deadline | 8/132 | 6.1% | 3.1–11.5% | 6 |
| 4 | The Town with Matthew Belloni | 8/132 | 6.1% | 3.1–11.5% | 5 |
| 5 | TheWrap | 2/132 | 1.5% | 0.4–5.4% | 1 |
| 6 | IndieWire | 1/132 | 0.8% | 0.1–4.2% | 0 |
| 7 | Puck | 1/132 | 0.8% | 0.1–4.2% | 1 |
| 8 | Decoder | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 9 | Pivot | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 10 | Press Box | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 11 | SmartLess | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 12 | The Ankler | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 13 | The Big Picture | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 14 | The Bill Simmons Podcast | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 15 | The Plot Thickens | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 16 | The Powers That Be | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 17 | The Watch | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
| 18 | Vanity Fair | 0/132 | 0.0% | 0.0–2.8% | 0 |
The top eight, side by side
| # | Name | Appearance rate | Answers and interval | Other measures |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hollywood Reporter | 33.7% | 97/288 answers · 95% CI 28.5–39.3% | first-mention position: 2.5; owned-domain citation (11/288): 3.8%; citation share: 0.8% |
| 2 | Variety | 28.8% | 83/288 answers · 95% CI 23.9–34.3% | first-mention position: 2.3; owned-domain citation (17/288): 5.9%; citation share: 0.9% |
| 3 | The Town with Matthew Belloni | 20.8% | 60/288 answers · 95% CI 16.5–25.9% | first-mention position: 2.2; owned-domain citation (3/288): 1%; citation share: 0.1% |
| 4 | Deadline | 18.4% | 53/288 answers · 95% CI 14.4–23.3% | first-mention position: 2.9; owned-domain citation (10/288): 3.5%; citation share: 0.5% |
| 5 | Puck | 18.1% | 52/288 answers · 95% CI 14–22.9% | first-mention position: 2.5; owned-domain citation (9/288): 3.1%; citation share: 0.4% |
| 6 | The Ankler | 12.8% | 37/288 answers · 95% CI 9.5–17.2% | first-mention position: 3.4; owned-domain citation (16/288): 5.6%; citation share: 0.7% |
| 7 | IndieWire | 10.8% | 31/288 answers · 95% CI 7.7–14.9% | first-mention position: 5; owned-domain citation (9/288): 3.1%; citation share: 0.4% |
| 8 | TheWrap | 10.4% | 30/288 answers · 95% CI 7.4–14.5% | first-mention position: 4.5; owned-domain citation (16/288): 5.6%; citation share: 0.8% |
Gemini named Puck in 27 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 5 to 10 of 72. Claude named Deadline in 22 of 72 answers. The other engines named it in 9 to 12 of 72.
ChatGPT
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Same questions, different answers
Claude
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Gemini
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Perplexity
72 asked · 72 returned · 72 grounded
Google AI Overviews were captured through 68 U.S. desktop searches and scored only where an overview appeared, so five-engine figures use 288 + 67 = 355 answers.
The fifth engine
Trigger rate: 67 of 68 searches
Google AI Overviews appeared on 67 of 68 searches (98.5%, CI 92.1–99.7%). The other search showed no overview. Within the 67 overviews, The Hollywood Reporter was named in 16 (23.9%), Variety was named in 14 (20.9%), The Town with Matthew Belloni was named in 13 (19.4%), Puck was named in 10 (14.9%). youtube.com was the most-cited source, with 39 citations and an appearance in 19 of 67 overviews.
| Five-engine rank | Name | Five-engine rate | Four-engine rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Hollywood Reporter | 31.8% | 1 |
| 2 | Variety | 27.3% | 2 |
| 3 | The Town with Matthew Belloni | 20.6% | 3 |
| 4 | Puck | 17.5% | 5 |
| 5 | Deadline | 16.9% | 4 |
| 6 | The Ankler | 12.7% | 6 |
| 7 | IndieWire | 9.6% | 7 |
| 8 | TheWrap | 9.0% | 8 |
| 9 | The Big Picture | 6.8% | 9 |
| 10 | Pivot | 5.4% | 10 |
Who each question surfaces first
Six questions from the set. Each tile uses that question's own four-engine answers as the denominator.
| Question | Leader | Next | AI Overview |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q01 · 12 answers | The Hollywood Reporter 100.0% | The Town with Matthew Belloni 66.7%; The Big Picture 50.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q02 · 12 answers | The Town with Matthew Belloni 100.0% | The Ankler 100.0%; Variety 83.3% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q03 · 12 answers | Variety 58.3% | The Hollywood Reporter 50.0%; Pivot 41.7% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q04 · 12 answers | Variety 100.0% | The Hollywood Reporter 100.0%; Deadline 100.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q05 · 12 answers | The Town with Matthew Belloni 66.7% | Variety 50.0%; The Hollywood Reporter 50.0% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
| Q06 · 12 answers | Puck 8.3% | AI Overview shown on 3 of 3 searches |
The four engines produced 2,415 citations in total. en.wikipedia.org was cited most often, with 163 citations (6.7%) across 85 answers. Next came podcasts.apple.com (142), millionpodcasts.com (107), podcast.feedspot.com (52), vitrina.ai (41), reddit.com (32).
Four AI engines · share of 288 grounded answers
Most-cited domains
Google AI Overviews · share of 67 overviews
Citation share by source type
Share of all citations by the type of site cited.
| Source type | Four AI engines (of 2,415 citations) | Google AI Overviews (of 181 citations) |
|---|---|---|
| Other / unclassified | 1,001 (41.4%) | 43 (23.8%) |
| Company / brand sites | 418 (17.3%) | 26 (14.4%) |
| Directories / rankings | 283 (11.7%) | 5 (2.8%) |
| General news / business press | 239 (9.9%) | 10 (5.5%) |
| Reference | 189 (7.8%) | 13 (7.2%) |
| Community / social | 85 (3.5%) | 80 (44.2%) |
| Trade / specialist press | 73 (3%) | 1 (0.6%) |
| General news / sports media | 41 (1.7%) | 0 (0%) |
| Review / comparison publishers | 37 (1.5%) | 3 (1.7%) |
| Research / data providers | 24 (1%) | 0 (0%) |
| Official / government | 22 (0.9%) | 0 (0%) |
| Institutions / trade bodies | 3 (0.1%) | 0 (0%) |
How can podcasts and outlets improve their AI visibility?
These steps follow from the measured results above. They describe what the engines cited in this study and are not a guarantee of results.
| Step | What this study measured |
|---|---|
| Put your facts on your own domain. | Variety's own domains were cited in 5.9% of grounded answers, TheWrap's in 5.6% and The Ankler's in 5.6%. |
| Keep your facts accurate on the sites engines cite. | The most-cited sites other than the tracked names' own were en.wikipedia.org (in 29.5% of grounded answers), millionpodcasts.com (23.3%), podcasts.apple.com (18.8%), podcast.feedspot.com (13.5%) and reddit.com (11.1%). Directories and rankings supplied 11.7% of citations and general news and business press 9.9%. |
| Check each engine separately. | Gemini named Puck in 37.5% of answers against 6.9% on Perplexity. Gemini named The Town with Matthew Belloni in 31.9% of answers against 12.5% on ChatGPT. |
| Watch names outside the tracked list. | Pop Culture Happy Hour (25 answers), The Ringer (22 answers) and The Prestige TV Podcast (14 answers) were named often but were not tracked. |
| Re-run the same questions every month. | Compare counts and intervals, not ranks. The 24 questions are in the appendix. |
What AI answers
Which entertainment podcasts and outlets appear in these AI answers?
The Hollywood Reporter: 97/288 returned four-engine answers (33.7%; 95% interval 28.5–39.3%). The two leading intervals overlap; no sole leader is established.
Which tracked name is named first most often?
Variety was the first source named in 31 of 288 answers, with an average first position of 2.3.
How often do Google AI Overviews appear for these questions?
An overview appeared on 67 of 68 searches (98.5%, CI 92.1–99.7%). Within those 67 overviews, The Hollywood Reporter was named most often, in 16 (23.9%).
Which sources do the engines cite?
Across 2,415 four-engine citations, en.wikipedia.org was cited most (163 citations, in 85 of 288 grounded answers), followed by podcasts.apple.com (142 citations).
Do the four engines agree?
Only in part. Gemini named Puck in 27 of 72 answers, against 5 to 10 of 72 on the other engines. Claude named Deadline in 22 of 72 answers, against 9 to 12 of 72 on the other engines.
How this study was measured
24 questions × 3 runs each × 4 AI engines = 288 answers + 68 Google searches · 67 AI Overviews
24 questions asked three times on each of ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity, measured November 6 to 7, 2026. United States, English; Google retrieval uses desktop results. Models: gpt-5-mini, claude-sonnet-5-5, gemini-3.6-flash only, sonar-pro. Google AI Overviews come from DataForSEO, not inferred chat answers. Appearance counts returned text, including ungrounded answers; citation rates use grounded answers. Longer overlapping names suppress shorter ones; First mention is the earliest eligible name order. Own-domain rates include declared domains and subdomains; shared parent scopes may count for multiple names and cannot be summed as unique citations.
| Engine | Model IDs called | Asked | Returned | Grounded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChatGPT | gpt-5-mini | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Claude | claude-sonnet-5-5 | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Gemini | gemini-3.6-flash | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Perplexity | sonar-pro | 72 | 72 | 72 |
| Google AI Overviews | DataForSEO Google SERP (live, advanced) | 68 | 67 shown | 67 |
Own-domain citations count a domain plus all its subdomains, with the same rule in every table.
Definitions
- Appearance rate: answers naming the tracked name ÷ answers returned, with Wilson 95% intervals.
- First mention: average order in which the tracked name first appears (1 = first).
- Own-domain citation: grounded answers citing the tracked name's domains ÷ grounded answers.
- Citation share: citations to the tracked name's domains ÷ all citations.
Limits
- Only 18 tracked sources are ranked; results are not an exhaustive market ranking.
- Only the tracked sources were scored. The untracked sources named most often were Pop Culture Happy Hour (25 answers), The Ringer (22 answers) and The Prestige TV Podcast (14 answers); studios, agencies and companies were not counted.
- 356 of 360 planned results were returned: 4 of 72 AI Overview lookups were excluded after three attempts because Google search retrieval failed or returned incomplete results. They are not counted as no-overview results.
- 68 successful Google searches: 67 overviews shown; 1 without an overview. Failures are excluded, not scored as zero.
- All returned chat answers had search sources.
- No Core question names a tracked name.
- Source types use Company / brand sites only for verified official sites; other unresolved sites are Other / unclassified.
- Wilson 95% intervals are descriptive; overlapping leading intervals do not establish a sole leader. Measurements do not endorse medical, legal, financial or product claims.
- The Ringer shows (The Bill Simmons Podcast, The Watch, Press Box, The Big Picture) and The Ankler and Verge shows are path-scoped on shared domains. Show names that are common phrases were checked by hand.
- Google Shopping and unresolved google.com/goto links are excluded from cited sources; original URLs remain in the evidence.
- Appearance rates use all returned four-engine answers; own-site citation rates use grounded answers, so the two are separate measures.
- Answers were collected through each engine's API using the model IDs listed in the methodology. The consumer ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity apps can answer differently.
Appendix: The 24 questions
Questions marked "Core question" are the original study questions, asked word for word. The others are added neutral questions.
| # | Question | Group | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | What are the best podcasts about the entertainment industry? | Podcasts and news | Core question |
| 02 | Which podcasts cover Hollywood business and streaming? | Podcasts and news | Core question |
| 03 | Which podcasts do media executives listen to? | Podcasts and news | Core question |
| 04 | What are the best sources for entertainment industry news? | Podcasts and news | Core question |
| 05 | Who are the most powerful executives in Hollywood? | Industry questions | Core question |
| 06 | What are the biggest talent agencies in Hollywood? | Industry questions | Core question |
| 07 | Which streaming service has the best original content? | Industry questions | Core question |
| 08 | What are the best podcasts about movies and TV? | Podcasts and news | Core question |
| 09 | Which podcasts interview Hollywood executives? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 10 | Which newsletters cover the business of Hollywood? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 11 | Which podcasts cover the box office each week? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 12 | Which podcasts cover the media and tech business? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 13 | Which publications break entertainment industry deals first? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 14 | Which podcasts review new TV shows? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 15 | Which podcasts cover the music industry business? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 16 | Which podcasts cover the sports media business? | Podcasts and news | Added question |
| 17 | Which studios released the highest-grossing movies this year? | Industry questions | Added question |
| 18 | Which streaming services have the most subscribers? | Industry questions | Added question |
| 19 | Who runs the major Hollywood studios? | Industry questions | Added question |
| 20 | Which production companies make the most acclaimed TV series? | Industry questions | Added question |
| 21 | What are the biggest media mergers of recent years? | Industry questions | Added question |
| 22 | Which films are leading the awards season? | Industry questions | Added question |
| 23 | Which agencies represent the biggest movie stars? | Industry questions | Added question |
| 24 | What are the most influential entertainment industry events? | Industry questions | Added question |
About 5W
5W is an independent PR, creative and GEO agency founded in 2003, and we get you in the chatbox. All of our work is done in house, including media relations, site building and content. Learn more about our GEO practice or write to info@5wpr.com.
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