The longer someone has been listening to podcasts, the more they consume, with 15% of America now listening to six hours or more a week to podcasts. New research from Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights finds 44% of weekly podcast listeners are considered heavy users, with the average weekly podcast listener now committing 7.3 hours to the medium.
The Fall 2024 Podcast Download report finds that level of listening results in an average of six episodes of listening among weekly listeners, typically across about five different shows.
Podcast pioneers â those listening for more than four years â spend even more time with podcasts and consume more episodes overall. That group averages eight hours of listening time across seven shows. Yet it is podcast consumers aged 18-34 who are most tuned to podcast discovery. The data shows that demo is 1.3-times more likely to have listened to a new podcast in the past three months.
While podcastsâ popularity grows overall, the strongest momentum is with watchable podcasts. The data shows four in ten say they like actively watching a podcast, while another 29% prefer listening to a podcast while the video is minimized or playing in the background â for what one might consider an audio-like experience. And a third of weekly podcast consumers prefer actively watching podcasts with videos.
Podcasting remains an audio-first medium, and the survey shows 31% still prefer an audio-only experience. But that is down from 43% two years ago, as a growing number of fans of the medium are opening up to the video option.
The changes are being ushered in by podcast newcomers. The report says 42% of newcomers â those defined as having started listening to podcasts in the past year â prefer actively watching a video. That compares to 38% of podcast pioneers.
âThose who only watch podcasts are 13% of the weekly podcast audience,â Cumulus Media Insights Manager Liz Mayer and Signal Hill President Paul Riismandel say in a blog post detailing the findings. But that may also represent a ceiling. The data shows exclusive podcast watching has remained fairly consistent since April 2022, averaging 10.2% during the two-year period.
YouTube has ridden the video momentum to become the most-used podcast platform in the U.S. The survey finds one in three (34%) of weekly podcast listeners say it is the platform they most use. That puts it ahead of Spotify (17%), which is also racing to add more video. The numbers also show that Apple Podcasts continues to see its usage decline. In July 2019, 29% of weekly podcast listeners said they used Apple Podcasts the most. Today that figure stands at 11%, an all-time low for the app. âYouTube has steadily grown at the expense of Apple,â Mayer and Riismandel say.
Working in YouTubeâs favor is its reach. Podcast Download data shows not only are newcomers most likely to use it, but so are pioneers. And more critically for the industry, heavy podcast consumers â those who listen to podcasts for six hours or more each week â say YouTube is their most-used app.
The rise of YouTube has also had an impact on how people are finding shows. The Google-owned app has flexed its search muscle. Nearly a third of the weekly podcast audience indicate YouTube was where they started listening to a new podcast. The report says people who report discovering a podcast on YouTube stick with the platform for video, comments, community, recommendations, and other features.
Working in YouTubeâs favor is its video identity. When asked where they can either watch or listen to a show, two-thirds of weekly consumers point to YouTube.
âWhile Spotify and Appleâs expanded access to video provides more choice to consumers, the two platforms have a lot of work to do to build their perception for a visual podcast experience,â Mayer and Riismandel say.
Yet YouTubeâs ties to listeners are limited. A majority 55% consume the same podcasts elsewhere. And seven in ten say if a podcast were to become exclusive on a platform outside of YouTube, they would use the rival app to access the show.
The report also shows that while brand safety remains a top concern among advertisers, 70% of podcast consumers have no problem with adult language. And among those that prefer not to hear it, nearly half (47%) say they wouldnât turn off an episode because of the salty language.
The Fall 2024 Podcast Download report is based on a survey of 603 weekly podcast consumers 18 and older from Oct. 3-7 conducted by MARU/Matchbox. Download the full report HERE. Register for a webinar detailing the findings on Wednesday, Dec. 4 HERE.
