As the world of podcasting constantly evolves, the Podcast Landscape 2024 report examines who listens, what their favorite genres are, and the trends shaping the rise of on-demand audio content in the United States.
Throughout June, Sounds Profitable with Signal Hill Insights polled 5,071 individuals aged 18 and older to find out their podcasting habits. The study, weighted against the latest census data, aimed to explore listener habits, demographic skew, and the dynamics of podcast churn.
The findings indicate a robust engagement with podcasts, with 53% of Americans tuning into podcasts at least once a month and 37% listening weekly.
Hispanic and Asian demographics emerge as the most avid monthly podcast listeners, outperforming the average, while White audiences show a slightly lower-than-average engagement. Notably, women still only account for 44% of the monthly podcast audience, suggesting a potential area for growth.
Regarding listening habits, the majority of respondents spend two to five hours per week listening to podcasts, with nearly half reporting an increase in their listening duration compared to the previous year.
The study also delves into listener preferences and churn. Comedy is the most popular genre, enjoyed by 35% of listeners, closely followed by news, sports, and ties between political talk and true crime. Educational topics, video gaming, and religious content, however, attract fewer listeners. A decline in interest, repetitive content, and excessive advertising are the primary reasons listeners disengage from podcasts.
The presence of branding or corporate sponsorship in podcasts does not deter the majority of listeners, with 37% more likely to listen if a podcast is associated with a recognizable brand. Discovery channels for new podcasts show a strong preference for YouTube, used by 52% of listeners, while radio commercials trail behind as a source of discovery, used by only 10%.
As the intersection of traditional and new media continues to evolve, podcasters still have plenty of areas of untapped or underutilized potential for listenership and revenue, even as the medium grows exponentially.
The full Podcast Landscape 2024 report is available here.
