The Canadian Podcast Listener Releases Fresh Data on Video Podcasts, Promotion, Ad Avoidance, and More

Signal Hill Insights announces the release of The Canadian Podcast Listener 2025, conducted in partnership with Ulster Media. The only comprehensive study of its kind, The Canadian Podcast Listener delivers insights on the podcast audience and their consumption behaviour for publishers, agencies, and advertisers.

The full report follows on the fall release of data showing double-digit growth in the Canadian monthly podcast audience, with year over year consumption up 19% to comprise 46% of the population A18+.

Notable findings are detailed in the public Summary Report, including:

40% of monthly podcast consumers use YouTube most often for podcasts. At the same time only 24% say they only consume video podcasts. The promotion of podcasts on other podcasts has declined in influence, while more consumers say they discovered a show in their podcast app. 16% of monthly consumers found a show on another podcast, compared to 25% who found one on their podcast app. Podcasts are resistant to ad avoidance, with only 18% of monthly consumers saying they avoid podcast ads “all the time.” This is the lowest rate among the ad-supported platforms included in the survey. By comparison, 25% of monthly podcast consumers say they avoid TV ads “all the time,” and 33% avoid online video ads.

Learn more about these at: https://signalhillinsights.com/2026-video-podcasts-promotion-and-advertising-from-the-canadian-podcast-listener/

The Canadian Podcast Listener surveys more than 4,600 Canadian adults annually in September, with a mission to raise awareness and understanding of the podcast audience for podcasters, agencies, advertisers, and others needing deep insights into the business and opportunities for podcasting in Canada.

Additional findings in the full Canadian Podcast Listener 2025 report include:

Podcast consumption by province/region, language, gender, device, location, and platform; Audio vs. video podcast consumption, time spent watching vs. listening; Podcast discovery behaviour, including platforms and promotional tactics; The Canadian Podcast Chart ranking the top 30 podcasts, including new data on audio and video consumption for the top 10, genre ranking, and the top 10 podcasts and genres by gender.

The full Canadian Podcast Listener 2025 is available by subscription, providing access to the entire annual report and data.

“Nothing makes me more proud of the work we have done on CPL over the past nine years than having subscribers come up to me at industry events and tell me they can’t wait for the release of the report, and that they get use out of the data for the entire year,” said Study Director Matt Hird, VP of Research for Signal Hill Insights.

“The shift we’ve seen towards video consumption is impacting not only what Canadians are consuming, but how podcasts are discovered. The apps providing video content offer challenges – and opportunities – for getting shows in front of potential audiences, and CPL will inform those marketing decisions.”

To access the 2025 summary report and learn how to subscribe to the full report, please visit: https://www.canadianpodcastlistener.ca/