On-demand radio programming remains part of the podcast draw, even as the platform preference keeps changing. A new look at US podcast habits finds steady appetite for radio content, while smart TVs and Netflix gain ground on the audio apps that carry it.
Part one of Sounds Profitable’s Podcast Landscape 2026, conducted with Signal Hill Insights among 5,473 US adults 18 and older in August and weighted to Census targets, finds 42% of podcast consumers rate hearing radio programs on demand as very or somewhat important, essentially flat from 41% in 2025.
Several other motivations changed little. Something to listen to in the car or while traveling was rated important by 64% of consumers, down from 66%. Audio for company held at 59%, while 54% cited voices and conversation when alone, up from 52%. News or political analysis slipped to 56% from 58%.
Among consumers who have listened to a podcast, YouTube was named by 63% for podcast use in the past 12 months, followed by Spotify at 33%, Netflix at 21%, and Apple Podcasts at 15%. iHeartRadio and Pandora each drew 11%. As a most-used platform, iHeartRadio fell to 3% from 4%, SiriusXM to 2% from 4%, and Pandora held at 3%, while podcast-native apps overall fell to 15% from 19%. The report notes the 2026 response list added Netflix, Tubi, Apple TV, and HBO Max, which slightly dilutes other options.
Video continues to grow, with 44% of consumers watching a video podcast in the past week, up from 40%. Smart TV is now the most-used device for 12% of consumers, up from 9% in 2025 and 8% in 2024, while smartphones remain the majority device at 57% and the car sits at 5%, down from 6%.
Weekly consumers averaged 5.7 hours of podcasts a week, down from 6.3, while the median held at 4 hours. Sounds Profitable attributes the dip to fewer very long listening weeks, with 6% reporting 16 or more hours, down from 9%. Consumers who did not watch a video podcast in the past week held at 4.8 hours, while video viewers fell to 5.9 hours from 6.9. The hours are self-reported. Sounds Profitable’s Podcast Atlas previously found audio podcast consumers more attentive and more trusting than users of any other measured platform.
Reach was stable, with 74% of US adults having consumed a podcast, 55% in the past month, and 39% in the past week, compared with 54% and 38% in 2025. In June, Edison Research reported record podcast reach, with 58% of Americans 12 and older consuming monthly and 45% weekly.
