The Pitch for Podcasts: Attracting an ever-growing and highly engaged audience

Podcasts have established themselves as a mainstream media platform, attracting an ever-growing and highly engaged audience, as highlighted in The Podcast Consumer 2024 report by Edison Research.

On May 16, Megan Lazovick, Vice President at Edison Research, presented insights in a webinar, offering benchmark data on weekly and monthly U.S. podcast consumption. The presentation focused on foundational research findings in the podcast space and emphasized the targeted appeal and increasing influence of podcasts.

Key points for advertisers to know about podcast listeners:

• More people than ever are listening to podcasts: 67% of the 12+ population has ever listened to a podcast; 47% of the 12+ population are monthly podcast listeners and 34% are weekly listeners.

• Listeners are spending more time than ever with podcasts: In 2014, out of the daily time spent listening to all audio by those age 13+, 2% was spent with podcasts. In 2024, that number more than quadrupled and podcasts now account for 11% of daily time with audio. Twenty-three percent of weekly podcast listeners spend 10 hours or more listening to the medium each week.

• Podcasts reach all generations: 29% of kids age 6-12, 59% of those age 12-34, 55% of those age 35-54, and 27% of those age 55+ are monthly podcast listeners.

• Podcasts listeners are diverse and increasingly female: 48% of Black Americans and 43% of Latino Americans are monthly podcast listeners. The number of U.S. women listening to podcasts has hit a new high as 45% of women are monthly podcast listeners and 32% are weekly podcast listeners.

• Podcasts listeners are a highly coveted audience for advertisers as they are affluent and educated: 56% of monthly podcast listeners have an annual household income of more than $75K, compared to 48% of the U.S. population, and 49% of monthly podcast listeners are college educated compared to 44% of the U.S. population.

• Podcasts reach receptive audiences: 46% of weekly podcast listeners have purchased a product or service as a result of hearing an ad on a podcast. The podcasting industry has the metrics to help advertisers match with consumers.

Lazovick said, “Every element in this report has been chosen with a single goal in mind: to support and advance the podcast industry. Because great content, and the creators behind it, need to be supported. Today’s insights, alongside industry metrics, are valuable tools for anyone looking connect with their audiences more effectively.”

Read the full report here (PDF)