Podcast Listening Grows as Video Redefines the Podcast Landscape New data from Edison Research’s Podcast Consumer 2025
Edison Research’s The Podcast Consumer 2025, released today, charts the continued rise of podcast listening in the U.S and underscores the significant appeal of video podcasts.
Podcast consumption continues at a record high: 73% of those ages 12+ have ever consumed a podcast, 55% have consumed a podcast in the last month, and 40% have consumed a podcast in the last week, each measure being an all-time high. Since 2015, the total time spent with podcasts among those ages 13+ has grown by an astounding 355% to 773 million hours per week.
Video podcast consumption has redefined the podcast landscape: Over half (51%) of the U.S. 12+ population has ever watched a video podcast; 37% have watched a video podcast in the last month and 26% have watched a video podcast in the last week. Those who actively watch video podcasts are younger and more diverse than those who only listen to audio-only podcasts.
Edison Research Vice President Megan Lazovick presented findings from the study, which combines research from Edison’s The Infinite Dial®, Share of Ear®, Edison Podcast Metrics™, and other original custom research.
According to Lazovick, “It feels as if some people are just now waking up to the opportunities in video podcasting, but I can assure you that the audience has been awake, eyes wide open and watching for some time now. Over half the U.S. population has consumed a video podcast.”
Key findings from the study include:
Podcasts offer high engagement and trust from listeners: 88% of weekly podcast consumers agree that hearing ads is a fair price to pay for free content; 68% say they don’t mind hearing ads on podcasts
Podcast consumers have a high-value consumer profile: Monthly podcast consumers are more likely to be college-educated and to have higher incomes than the overall market, and they have high incidences of business ownership and home ownership
Podcasts offer a diverse listener base: 51% of Black Americans ages 12+ and 58% of Latino Americans ages 12+ are monthly podcast consumers
Other findings include:
- 31% of Americans age 18+ who have driven or ridden in a car in the last month ever listen to podcasts in their primary vehicle
- Those who use in-car infotainment systems are more likely to listen to podcasts in-car; 44% of those who are age 18+ who have driven or ridden in a car in the last month and use Android Auto or Apple CarPlay, listen to podcasts in-car
About the study
The Podcast Consumer 2025 from Edison Research draws upon the following datasets: Edison Podcast Metrics™, Share of Ear®, The Infinite Dial® with sponsors Audacy, Cumulus Media, and SiriusXM Media, The Women’s Audio Report with sponsor SiriusXM Media, The Gen Z Audio Report with sponsor SiriusXM Media, and The Fandom Phenomenon with sponsor Wondery.
About Edison Research
Edison Research conducts survey research and provides strategic information to a broad array of clients worldwide, having conducted research in 75 countries. Edison Research’s The Infinite Dial® series has been the survey of record for digital audio, social media, podcasting, smart speakers, and other media-related technologies since 1998. The company’s Share of Ear® survey is the only single-source measure of all audio in the U.S. Edison Research is the leading podcast research company in the world, producing the only survey-based data on podcast listening in the U.S, Edison Podcast Metrics, and has conducted research for many companies in the space. Since 2004, Edison Research has been the sole provider of election data, race projections and analysis to the National Election Pool (ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBC News).
This is a press release which we link to from Podnews, our daily newsletter about podcasting and on-demand. We may make small edits for editorial reasons.