The latest findings from Edison Research and NPR’s Spoken Word Audio Report indicate the genre has reached new heights of popularity. With data gathered from 4,193 respondents between Q3 2022 and Q3 2023, the report reveals spoken word’s audience size and engagement have hit all-time highs.
Over the last nine years, spoken word audio’s share of the total listening experience has soared by 55%, demonstrating its rising prominence in the audio landscape. In comparison to the years 2014 and 2015, when 39% of respondents engaged with spoken word content, 2023 saw a jump to 48%. This equates to an audience of 135 million listeners, an increase of 4 million from the previous year.
The average daily listening time for spoken word content at home has risen from 27 minutes in 2014 to 41 minutes in 2023. For the first time, mobile devices have become the primary medium for spoken word audio consumption, overtaking traditional platforms. This is especially true at home, with spoken word’s household listening surpassing that of music.
41% still listen to spoken word content via traditional radio at home, but of those, 11% now stream their preferred AM/FM signal on their phone, smart speaker, or smart TV.
Of course, in the car, AM/FM still holds the lion’s share of time spent listening. Within cars, traditional radio accounts for 62% of spoken word audio consumption. Listening peaks during the morning commute, but other times of the day, including midday and early evening, have experienced substantial growth in listener numbers since 2014.
As shown below, podcasting has carved out a considerable and expanding segment of the spoken word landscape, almost halving OTA radio’s share.
This report underscores the continued opportunities for content and advertising in the landscape of audio consumption, especially among the growing importance of spoken word content in people’s daily media diets.
