Number of U.S. Latino Monthly Podcast Listeners Soars; up 44% year over year

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The Latino Podcast Listener Report 2021 from Edison Research finds that 36% of U.S. Latinos age 18+ (16 million people) have listened to a podcast in the last month, which is a 44% increase over 2020 (25%). This is narrowing the gap with the overall 18+ U.S. population, of whom 40% are monthly podcast listeners. New research shows that this dramatic increase comes from both English-dominant and Spanish-dominant listeners.

The U.S. Latino Podcast Listener report was commissioned by Adonde Media, Lantigua Williams & Co., Libsyn, PRX, Simplecast, Sonoro, SXM Media, and was conducted by Edison Research. This is the second annual release of the report.

One factor may have contributed to the changes seen in the most recent study: the COVID-19 pandemic. Over half (54%) of Latino monthly podcast listeners say they began listening to podcasts during the COVID-19 pandemic (March 2020 or after). Forty-four percent of non-Spanish dominant U.S. Latino monthly podcast listeners and 57% of Spanish-dominant U.S. Latino monthly podcast listeners began listening within the last year, which reinforces the idea that available content for Latino listeners is increasing.

The number of U.S. Latinos reached daily by podcasts has increased dramatically since pre-pandemic times, with 21% of the U.S. Latino population being reached by podcasts each day, up from only 11% in Q1 2020.

Regarding monetization of podcasts, 58% of U.S. Latino monthly podcasts listeners say they would be likely to pay a small fee to avoid hearing ads on the podcasts they listen. Six million U.S. Latinos say they would be very likely to pay a small fee to listen to ad-free podcasts. In the current ad-based environment, though, U.S. Latinos show an affinity for brands advertised on Latino podcasts -- 75% say they are likely to purchase a brand on a podcast hosted by Latinos.

Seventy-seven percent of U.S. Latino podcast listeners listen to podcasts with a video component. Forty-one percent of U.S. Latino podcast listeners say they prefer consuming a podcast with audio and video, while actively watching the video.

Latino podcast listeners also have unique listening habits and motivations. When they listen to podcasts at home, 49% are spending time with family and friends – more than double that of the overall 18+ population (22%). Thirty-eight percent of U.S. Latino podcast listeners listen to stay connected with their family’s country of origin.

Findings from the study debuted in two webinars on July 13, one in English and one in Spanish, presented by Gabriel Soto, Director of Research at Edison Research, and Martina Castro, CEO of Adonde Media. The U.S. Latino Podcast Listener Report is the only comprehensive research on Latino podcast listeners in the United States.

“Last year’s study put so much emphasis on the upside for podcast listening growth among Latinos, but these new findings surpassed our expectations in just one year,” said Soto. “The number of monthly podcast listeners among U.S. Latinos soared. And it didn’t just take a pandemic, but everyone a part of this beautiful community -- creators, marketers, platforms and everyone else in the industry. We are happy we got to measure the fruits of the labor of so many, and we’ll continue doing so – the ceiling is high.”

Other key findings from the study include:

• 29% of U.S. Latinos are weekly podcast listeners
• 48% of U.S. Latinos say they have ever listened to a podcast mostly in English (up from 36% in 2020)
• 33% of U.S. Latinos say they have ever listened to a podcast mostly in Spanish (up from 24% in 2020)
• 58% U.S. Latino monthly podcast listeners are men, 48% are age 18-34, 35% are Spanish-language dominant

According to Castro, “This second round of the study tells a nuanced and exciting story of a diverse community that is quickly discovering podcasts, and that is growing at an impressive rate. This data once again shows the value of being counted and demands that the industry pay attention to Latinos as a valuable demographic of listeners, both in English and en español.”

This listening will likely not go away, according to U.S. Latino podcast listeners, as 96% say they are very or somewhat likely to continue to listening to podcasts once the pandemic ends.

The Latino Podcast Listener Report 2021 may be downloaded in English or Spanish at www.edisonresearch.com/the-latino-podcast-listener-report-2021. For more information on the partners in this study, please visit Adonde Media, Lantigua Williams & Co., Libsyn, PRX, Simplecast, Sonoro, and SXM Media.

How This Study Was Conducted

Online interviews were conducted with 2,500+ U.S. Hispanic/Latino adults age 18+ in May 2021. The data was weighted to the age/sex/country of origin of U.S. Hispanic/Latino population and The Infinite Dial 2021 podcast listening statistics. The survey was offered in English and Spanish, and 17% of total respondents took the survey in Spanish.

About Edison Research

Edison Research conducts survey research and provides strategic information to a broad array of clients, including Activision, AMC Theatres, Disney, Dolby Laboratories, Google, Oracle, the U.S. International Broadcasting Bureau, Pandora, Samsung, Siemens, Sony, The Gates Foundation, and Univision. Edison is the leading podcast research company in the world and has conducted research on the medium for NPR, Slate, ESPN, PodcastOne, WNYC Studios, and many more companies in the space. Another specialty for Edison is its work for media companies throughout the world, conducting research in North America, South America, Africa, Asia, Australia, and Europe. Edison is also the leading provider of consumer exit polling and has conducted face-to-face research in almost every imaginable venue. Since 2004, Edison Research has been the sole provider of Election Day data to the National Election Pool, conducting exit polls and collecting precinct vote returns to project and analyze results for every major presidential primary and general election.