New research puts numbers on how much radio and podcast audiences overlap, but suggests that the two do not have to be rivals. That overlap may just hand stations a road map for hosts, ad loads, and winning back listeners who have drifted away.
The Podcast Study 2026, from Strategic Solutions Research and Point-To-Point Marketing, closed its webinar series with “What Radio Can Learn From The Podcast Study.” Based on 1,205 podcast consumers ages 18 to 54, the radio-focused deck found 74% listen to local radio weekly or more, including 46% who listen every day.
The host is central. Among radio listeners with a favorite podcast, 81% say the host is a big part of, or the only reason for, their listening. Among Daily radio listeners, 24% say the host is the only reason, and 52% are likely to tune in for a chance to interact with the host.
It’s execution where audiences leak. Among radio listeners, 55% give a new podcast five minutes or less before deciding, and 60% of Daily radio listeners decide within five minutes. Boring talk and too much meaningless talk at the start top the reasons for giving up on a first try.
On advertising, 47% of Daily radio listeners are strongly influenced by host-read ads. After a host endorsement, radio listeners are more likely to notice the ad (54%), remember the brand (56%), trust the ad (49%), and consider buying (46%). At the same time, 54% of radio listeners say podcasts carry too many ads, 46% say there are more than a year ago, and 21% listen to podcasts less because of ads.
Listeners who have drifted from radio are the opportunity. The 26% of respondents who listen to local radio less than weekly are mostly lapsed: 75% have listened before, and 48% still listen at least every few months. About half of light radio users say they try new podcasts because of the host, including 51% of those who lapsed within the past year, compared with 43% of weekly radio listeners. Lapsed listeners are more sensitive to ad load, with 59% skipping ads, compared with 48% of radio listeners, and 41% skipping even when the host is one they like, compared with 24%.
Trial runs through clips and social. Some 65% of radio listeners typically see two or more clips before trying a new podcast; 43% are moved by recognizing or liking the host, and 43% by a single clip that made them feel they were missing out. Among Daily radio listeners, 69% have listened to a limited-series podcast in the past year.
Superfans make up 17% of the sample and Prime Prospects 18%. Of Superfans, 79% listen to local radio weekly or more and 58% daily, while 82% of Prime Prospects listen weekly or more and 56% daily. Among Daily radio listeners, 55% would definitely join a free VIP club and 44% would definitely open an email from the host. Among radio-listening Prime Prospects, 75% are likely to subscribe to a host-read-only tier.
The deck closes with a six-point playbook: treat talent as the brand and give listeners direct access to hosts, win back lapsed listeners with on-demand and social content, sell host endorsements and use host reads to hold listeners through the break, coach production teams to plug leaks in the first minute, clip hosts daily on social, and build a funnel of a free VIP club, host email, exclusive content, events, and limited series.
In September, Radio Ink covered the study’s first webinar on the host and trust. On Oct. 7, a report defined the Superfans and Prime Prospects, and on Oct. 16, the study’s ad fatigue findings were covered.
