What’s been happening in the podcasting space throughout 2020? To sum it up… a lot. We wanted to break down 20 important statistics that all marketers should know. These stats are crucial for brands to start understanding the power of audio, so if you’re representing a brand and thinking about starting a podcast - this is for you! 

Growth 

1. In the US, podcast familiarity has risen to 75% of the total population, up 5% from 2019. 
2. In the US, podcast listening has risen to 55% of the total population, up 4% from 2019. 
3. Monthly podcast consumers grew by 16% year-over-year, cresting 100 million Americans for the first time. 
4. Weekly podcast listening has risen to 24%, up 2% from 2019. 
5. There are over 1.6 million valid podcasts on Apple Podcasts. 
6. Spotify has spent over $800 million on podcast related acquisitions.
   

Demographics

7. In 2020, men listening to podcasts has risen by 3% (currently at 39%) while women listening to podcasts has risen by 7% (currently at 36%). 
8. The most popular age group for podcast listening is 12-34. 
9. 66% of podcast listeners have a bachelor’s or higher degree. 
10. 44% have a household income of 44% or more. 

Listening

11. The average time spent listening to podcasts is 6 hours and 39 minutes. 
12. Weekly podcast listeners average at listening to about 6 podcasts per week. 
13. Youtube listening is down to 9% in the US, was sitting at 11% in 2018. 
14. Comedy, education, and news are the most popular podcasting genres.

Podcast Advertising 

15. Ad revenue will increase by 14.7% in 2020 despite COVID-19. Prior to COVID-19, it was predicted that podcast ad revenue would grow by 29.6% in 2020.  
16. DTC brands (22%) and financial services (16%) make up top podcast advertisers. 
17. 81% of podcast listeners pay attention to podcast ads
18. 54% are more likely to consider the brand advertised (only 7% are less likely)
19. 72% of people who have listened to a podcast for four or more years have made a purchase
20. 60% of podcast listeners have bought something from a podcast ad.

Sources 

1. IAB
2. Edison Research
3. The Infinite Dial
4. Midroll
5. Statista
6. My Podcast Reviews

‍

Want to learn more about bringing your podcast to life? Chat with us here.