With concerns about the erosion of ad dollars from AM/FM caused by social media and streaming music, radio operators have an opportunity to return the favor, as new research shows that podcasts are reshaping media consumption with brand opportunities in tow.
An analysis by Audacy Senior Manager of Research & Insights Deepika Das draws on Edison Research, eMarketer, and MRI Simmons data collected through late 2025 to show that daily podcast consumption among U.S. adults has risen nearly four times over the past decade, climbing from 6% in 2015 to 23% in 2025 per Edison Research’s Share of Ear Q4 2025 report.
Das says that growth did not emerge from expanded leisure time. It came from displacement. Listeners are making deliberate substitutions, trading scrolling and passive streaming for longer-form, host-driven audio content they actively seek out.
MRI Simmons’ 2025 October Podcast Study found 39% of weekly podcast listeners say podcasts now replace social media scrolling, 36% say podcasts replace live TV viewing, and 34% say podcasts replace streaming music listening. US adults average 103 minutes per day with podcasts, according to eMarketer’s June 2025 figures for adults 18 and older.
In comparison, TikTok draws 77 minutes per day, Facebook draws 69, Instagram draws 65, and X draws 26.
On the streaming music side, podcasts beat streaming music in daily digital ad-supported audio share in 2023 and now hold an 11-point advantage in that category per Edison’s Share of Ear Q4 2025 data, which measures ad-supported listening among audio-only sources among adults 18 and older, excluding TV viewing and YouTube video. Since 2015, podcasts have gained 31 share points in that measure. Streaming music has lost 27.
Das relates that podcasts deliver something structurally different from both social media and streaming music from an advertiser standpoint in that the content is sought, not served. Listeners choose episodes, follow hosts over time, and build habitual consumption patterns around specific shows, and that trust converts.
Audacy’s screener survey, conducted online from December 2025 through February 2026 among adults 13 and older, found 76% of podcast listeners report purchasing a product after hearing a host-read advertisement. That figure reflects a direct behavioral response to advertising embedded in content the listener chose to consume, delivered by a host whose recommendations carry accumulated credibility.
And there’s proof that the advertising market is following the audience. EMarketer’s December 2025 forecast projects podcast advertising revenue will exceed $3 billion in 2026 and will account for more than 40% of all digital audio advertising spending by 2027. That projection reflects both the audience size and the engagement depth that make podcast inventory valuable relative to other digital audio formats where ad-supported reach is contracting.
