Uncovering the Podcast Landscape In the Us
By Tom Seest
How Many Podcasts Are There In the Us?
At PodcastBig, we help new podcasters develop strategies to create content, traffic, and revenue from podcasts based on our experiences and experimentation.
Podcasts cover an expansive spectrum of subjects, from arts and science to politics and comedy. While news- and politics-themed shows tend to dominate podcasting popularity, sports, music, and cultural episodes also remain very popular genres.
Podcasts can provide a unique way of engaging your target audience, offering educational, entertainment or marketing purposes.
How Many Podcasts Are There In the Us?
Table Of Contents
How many Americans are tuning in to podcasts each month?
Monthly podcast listeners increased by 16% year over year and have more than doubled since 2015. Weekly listeners are highly engaged and fit right into advertisers’ target demographic of the 12-3-4 age range, with over half being female listeners – making podcasts ideal for marketing any brand or product.
Nearly half of podcast listeners listen to at least six episodes weekly, and diehard subscribers typically consume 11 each month. That is an impressive statistic considering most people access podcasts on their phones – 59% listen while driving/walking and 40% multitask while listening in between chores or work tasks.
Apple Podcasts remains the go-to platform for podcast listening and downloads with 38% market share and 40,348,623 downloads; Spotify follows close behind with 26% listeners and 27 million downloads respectively. The most popular topics for podcasts include entertainment/news as well as sports/lifestyle/comedy categories.
Most podcast listeners discover new shows via the directories of their preferred podcasting apps; however, others also use social media (18.3%), ask someone they know for recommendations (17%), search Google (15%) and use podcast charts (13%). Podcasts provide an engaging way to stay current with events while learning something new!
Podcasts were once seen as niche and experimental, but their use is becoming more mainstream as more brands become aware of their reach and effectiveness. New capabilities and tools are opening the way for more advertisers to invest in this cost-effective yet measurable marketing channel.
How many Americans are tuning in to podcasts each month?
How Many Americans Listen to Podcasts?
Podcasts have quickly become one of the most popular audio media formats. People can access podcasts easily on multiple devices – such as smartphones and smart speakers like Amazon Alexa and Google Home) as well as streaming platforms like iTunes and Spotify – making it simple for individuals to find one that best matches their interests.
Podcasts provide access to an impressive variety of languages, due to being accessible worldwide with internet connectivity – making them an attractive option for many who wish to learn a foreign tongue.
While podcasts have grown increasingly popular over time, they still fall short of matching traditional media outlets in terms of viewership. According to a recent Edison Research report, 64% of Americans listen to podcasts at home – although that does not preclude traveling or working while still listening. Common ways that people listen to podcasts include driving their cars while listening, walking/working out while listening, and while performing chores.
Edison Research reported that podcast listeners generally choose comedy and news podcasts for entertainment and information, followed by popular genres such as sports, politics and business podcasts. Podcasts provide an easy way to keep informed while making commutes or workouts more enjoyable.
Regarding how many podcasts there are, it is important to keep in mind that this figure does not represent the total number ever created – many were never released or abandoned, making the actual active count much higher than expected.
How Many Americans Listen to Podcasts?
What Does the Podcast Landscape Look Like Now?
Podcasting has grown increasingly popular over time. According to estimates, over 4.5 million podcasts can now be found on iTunes alone – and this number will likely continue to expand as more and more people discover this form of media.
There is an incredible variety of podcasts out there and various ways people listen to them, too. Some popular platforms for listening include Spotify, Stitcher and Apple Podcasts; each platform provides access to numerous topics covered by podcasts as well as features that allow listeners to tailor their experience further.
There are various organizations that compile podcasting statistics. Notable examples of these studies include the Infinite Dial report and Rajar Midas survey, both used by marketers and businesses to understand trends and habits of podcast listeners.
As of 2022, there were more than 4.2 million active podcasts in the US and this figure is expected to grow as new podcasts emerge every day and existing ones continue to draw listeners.
Note that “active” can be defined in various ways. A podcast could have started 10 years ago without ever publishing an episode; yet still be listed on iTunes directory can qualify as being considered “active”.
Most podcasts are short-form shows with only a handful of episodes, which doesn’t necessarily spell doom; plenty of great shows were designed as stand-ins, so it is just important to remember this when calculating podcast stats.
What Does the Podcast Landscape Look Like Now?
How Can You Discover the Best Podcasts on Stitcher?
Stitcher currently hosts over 3.5 million podcasts, despite only having about 80 million weekly listeners in the US. As podcasting remains increasingly popular and we expect its numbers to continue increasing exponentially over time – podcasts provide great ways to learn new topics while entertaining listeners at the same time!
Stitcher offers more than just podcast hosting; its business services enable podcasters to reach a wider audience and generate revenue from ads, sponsorships and merchandise sales. Furthermore, Stitcher also provides tools to enhance podcast shows and increase engagement, making it suitable for both small businesses and large enterprises.
Edison Research reports that there are approximately 104 million monthly podcast listeners in the US. This number encompasses people of all ages and genders; news-related shows tend to be the most popular, followed by talk shows and comedy. Most shows can be downloaded for free while some may require subscription for accessing premium content.
Another fascinating fact about podcasts is the fact that 28% of consumers over 55 years old consume them – an impressive percentage which indicates how interested this demographic group is in this form of media consumption. Furthermore, this segment spends more time listening to podcasts than any other age group does.
Most podcast listeners are women, and they tend to prefer nonfiction podcasts over fiction ones. Men have recently started to catch up with women listeners of podcasts; furthermore, podcasts can serve as an invaluable platform for personal and career growth.
How Can You Discover the Best Podcasts on Stitcher?
How Many Podcasts Does Spotify Have?
Gaining an accurate count of podcasts is not as simple as it might appear; multiple factors must be taken into account, including activeness and episode count. Podnews’s index features an “oldestItemPubdate” field, which gives an approximation of when shows were first created; however, this doesn’t include shows with no published episodes, those created but never completed, shows with closed RSS feeds or one-off tests created as one-off tests on free hosting platforms or 20 second “podcasts”.
However, there are many podcasts out there to choose from and this number continues to rise each year as more people discover this medium. Edison Research recently published a report showing there are now over 104 million monthly listeners for podcasts in the US alone!
Interesting statistics reveal that 85% of podcast listeners on Spotify also consume music content, providing evidence of a mutually beneficial pairing between podcasting and music content. Furthermore, this makes targeting specific demographics with marketing campaigns easier for brands and creators alike.
48% of podcast listeners report tuning into seven or more podcasts each week, showing their growing popularity among younger audiences and engagement with content – the average listener spends two hours weekly on listening to a podcast while driving or walking! This statistic speaks volumes for its future as an industry.
How Many Podcasts Does Spotify Have?
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