How Many Ads Does Crime Junkie Have?

You settle in for a new Crime Junkie episode — Ashley Flowers is about to walk you through a case you've never heard of — and before she can utter a single detail, you're listening to someone pitch a mattress. Then a meal-kit service. Then an insurance app. By the time the actual story begins, you've already lost the mood. If you've ever wondered how many ads Crime Junkie has and why every episode feels front-loaded with sponsor reads, you're not alone. It's one of the most-asked questions from listeners of the show.

The Ad Reality of Crime Junkie

Crime Junkie is produced by audiochuck, Ashley Flowers' independent podcast network, and has ranked in Apple Podcasts' top 10 overall for years running — making it one of the most downloaded podcasts in the world. That reach commands serious ad revenue, and listeners feel every dollar of it.

Based on PodSkip listener data, Crime Junkie averages 4 ads per episode, totaling roughly 5.8 minutes of sponsored content — approximately 16% of every episode. A typical 36-minute episode contains a pre-roll spot before the case begins, two mid-roll breaks (often placed at cliffhanger moments), and occasionally a post-roll outro ad. The pre-roll alone can run 60–90 seconds before Ashley says a single word about the case.

Because Crime Junkie releases weekly and maintains a massive, loyal audience, advertisers pay premium CPM rates. That's good for audiochuck's business — less great for your true-crime immersion.

Why Dynamic Ad Insertion Makes This Worse

Not all of those ads were recorded the day the episode dropped. Many are dynamically inserted — meaning ad tech platforms stitch sponsored audio into the episode file at playback time, based on your location, device, or listening history. The ad you hear today might be completely different from the one a listener in another city hears on the same episode.

This creates two problems. First, the audio cuts can be jarring — volume levels shift, the acoustic environment changes, and the pacing breaks. Second, because dynamically inserted ads are invisible to traditional podcast apps (which only see the audio stream), features like chapter skipping or speed-up tricks don't reliably clear them. You might fast-forward 30 seconds and land right in the middle of another ad.

To make things worse, Crime Junkie also features host-read baked-in ads — spots Ashley and Brit record themselves, woven directly into the episode audio. These feel more personal, but they're still ads, and they're completely undetectable by any app that doesn't actually listen to the audio.

How PodSkip Detects and Skips Crime Junkie Ads Automatically

PodSkip takes a fundamentally different approach. Rather than relying on chapter markers or timestamps that show creators control, on-device AI listens ahead in the episode and identifies sponsored segments automatically — whether they're dynamically inserted network spots or host-read baked-in reads.

That's the key distinction. Spotify and Amazon Music can skip some dynamically inserted ads on their own platform content, but they have no way of catching a host-read Crime Junkie ad where Ashley herself is delivering the copy. PodSkip catches both. The audio analysis happens entirely on your device — nothing is uploaded, streamed, or shared — so your listening habits stay completely private.

When PodSkip detects an ad, it skips ahead seamlessly. No silence, no gap, no jarring jump cut. The episode just continues. You can read more about how this works in our guide to skipping podcast ads automatically and why podcasts have so many ads in the first place.

What the Listening Experience Actually Feels Like

Here's what that math looks like in practice. If Crime Junkie averages 5.8 minutes of ads per episode and you listen to every new episode — 52 episodes a year — you're sitting through roughly 5 hours of ads annually just on this one show.

With PodSkip, those 5 hours come back. The episode starts, the case starts, and when Ashley hits an ad break, you're already past it before you notice. The story thread stays unbroken. No mattress pitches, no promo codes, no "this episode is brought to you by" — just the case.

For a podcast built around atmosphere and narrative tension, that difference is enormous. Crime Junkie works because of its pacing and storytelling. Ads interrupt both. Removing them doesn't just save time; it restores the experience the show was designed to deliver.

For a deeper look at how the technology identifies sponsored segments, check out our post on how AI detects podcast ads.

Does This Work on Other Big Ad-Heavy Podcasts?

Crime Junkie is far from the only offender. Shows like Stuff You Should Know, My Favorite Murder, Morbid, and hundreds of other top podcasts follow the same ad-heavy model. PodSkip works across any podcast in your library — not just Crime Junkie. Whether the show is on a major network or an indie feed, whether the ads are dynamically inserted or host-read, the on-device AI identifies and skips sponsored segments the same way.

If you're curious how Crime Junkie compares to other shows, our podcast ad blocker guide breaks down ad loads across the most popular podcasts of 2026.

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FAQ

How many ads does Crime Junkie have per episode?

Based on PodSkip listener data, Crime Junkie averages 4 ads per episode, totaling approximately 5.8 minutes of sponsored content — about 16% of a typical episode.

Does Crime Junkie use dynamic ad insertion or baked-in ads?

Both. Crime Junkie uses dynamically inserted network ads (stitched in at playback time) as well as host-read baked-in ads recorded by Ashley and Brit. Most ad-skipping tools can only detect one type; PodSkip catches both.

Can Spotify or Apple Podcasts skip Crime Junkie ads?

No. Apple Podcasts has no ad-detection capability. Spotify can skip some dynamically inserted ads on its own originals, but cannot detect host-read baked-in ads on third-party shows like Crime Junkie. PodSkip's on-device AI handles both ad types regardless of which app or platform you use.

Is my listening data private when using PodSkip?

Yes. All audio analysis happens on your device. Your episode audio is never uploaded to a server, and your listening habits are never shared or stored externally.

Does PodSkip work on podcasts other than Crime Junkie?

Absolutely. PodSkip works across your entire podcast library — any show, any feed, any network. It's not limited to specific shows or platforms.

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Ready to take back those 5 hours a year? PodSkip is free — download it, add Crime Junkie to your library, and let the on-device AI handle every ad automatically. The case starts when you press play. That's how it should be.