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Edison Research
Edison Research produce a number of gold-standard research studies for the podcasting industry, including the Inf...
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Edison Research produce a number of gold-standard research studies for the podcasting industry, including the Inf...
Data and analysis
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November 21, 2024:
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In the US, YouTube is the service used most often to listen to podcasts, according to Edison Research. 31% of weekly podcast listeners aged 13+ choose YouTube as the service they use most to listen to podcasts; Spotify is at 27%, and Apple Podcasts is at 15%, says the data.
November 15, 2024:
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Edison Research has released a study showing the comparative difference between Trump and Harris appearances on podcasts before the election. Trump spoke to over three times the number of listeners, says the data.
November 14, 2024:
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Edison Research revealed the top 50 podcasts in the US, by total audience, for Q3/2024. Our list includes links to listen; 21 of the top 50 are hosted by Spotify’s Megaphone.
November 5, 2024:
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Adam Bowie analyses the recently announced Podtrac Country estimated rankers - comparing them to UK recall data from Edison Research, and to logfile-derived data from Triton Digital in Australia. Pointing out some rankings which are “wildly off”, “there are some curious anomalies between what [Podtrac] are suggesting versus what Triton can more accurately discern”, he concludes.
October 30, 2024:
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Acast released its Podcast Pulse report, working with Edison Research. 80% of podcast listeners tune into niche podcasts, with 63% saying they are less likely to skip ads on those shows. 92% say they listen to podcasts because they cover topics more in-depth than other media. The data is available in full here.
October 22, 2024:
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Research from Nielsen in the UK claims podcast listening is twice as popular as other data from RAJAR, UK regulator Ofcom, and Edison Research - suggesting 42% of people aged 18+ are listening to podcasts every week: and that podcast consumption in the country has “grown by 43%” over the last six months - growth which is not reflected in other data. Queries made by Podnews to Nielsen have only been answered by Acast, the company that commissioned the information for its sales team.
October 18, 2024:
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Edison Research and SiriusXM Media have announced a webinar for the third instalment from the Sports Audio Report.
October 16, 2024:
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Both candidates for the US Presidential election are hoping to be on the Joe Rogan Experience, according to media reports. But who listens to the show? Edison Research shares Rogan listener demographic data, including who his audience would vote for. Meanwhile, Kamala Harris guested with The Breakfast Club, another top 50 show, hosted by Charlamagne Tha God - which was carried live by other media outlets.
August 29, 2024:
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Podcasts are more interesting to non-listeners than ever before, says new data. Sounds Profitable published The Podcast Landscape 2024, a look at podcast consumption in the US. It claims 53% of Americans ages 18+ listen to podcasts each month (6% higher than Edison Research’s claimed 47%). The data includes the top 20 “favorite podcasts” (13% of respondents say their favorite is Joe Rogan), and suggests that YouTube has extended its lead as the most popular place to discover new shows. The study interviewed more than 5,000 Americans in an online panel. Some of the data was previewed at Podcast Movement.
August 21, 2024:
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True crime is the third most popular podcast genre; but 84% of the US population consume true crime content in some way, whether TV, YouTube, social media or podcasting. Edison Research presented the True Crime Consumer Report at Podcast Movement.
August 15, 2024:
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Edison Research revealed the Top 50 Podcasts in the US measured by weekly audience (and done through a survey, so every podcast gets measured). There’s no change in the top three: The Daily at #3, Crime Junkie at #2 and Joe Rogan at #1. 24 shows are hosted on Megaphone; 9 on Simplecast.
July 22, 2024:
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The majority of women in the US are sports fans, according to the Female Fans Sports Audio Report from Edison Research, which was released last week. The research, with SiriusXM Media and GroupM, discovered that a third of them listen to sports audio each week.
July 19, 2024:
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Podcast Movement has announced that Gabriel Soto from Edison Research will keynote, investigating the world of true crime podcasts with audiochuck. A number of other speakers have also been announced. (Our Editor will, of course, be there too!) Prices go up shortly - use code
PODNEWS
to save.
July 11, 2024:
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Podcast listeners in the UK are more likely to listen while walking, or to listen while on public transport, than podcast listeners in the US, says Edison Research’s Podcast Metrics.
July 4, 2024:
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In the US, podcasting is almost as big as talk radio, according to Edison Research. For people aged 13-64, podcasting is already bigger.
July 3, 2024:
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The Infinite Dial Australia 2024 was released, from Edison Research and CRA. 35% of Australians listen to podcasts every week (the US number is 34%). Overall, Australia is 9% ahead of the US for online audio listening.
June 27, 2024:
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Edison Research says that 79% of weekly podcast listeners in the US “have listened to podcasts that have video”, with 72% actively watching the screen.
June 26, 2024:
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In the UK, podcasts have more listeners than ever, according to a new study from Edison Research. The data says that 42% are monthly podcast listeners, and 30% listen weekly.
June 13, 2024:
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The Infinite Dial 2024 Australia will be unveiled on Jul 3. The gold standard research from Edison Research and CRA will give a view into, among other things, Australian podcast listening; last year 43% of Australians listened monthly.
June 12, 2024:
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Edison Research will unveil The UK Podcast Consumer 2024 on Jun 25. It’s the first time the research has been undertaken in the UK; the US data contains useful information to attract advertisers into the medium.
June 6, 2024:
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Edison Research released the top 25 podcasts in the UK for Q1/24. The top BBC show is at #15; Acast is the biggest publisher, with eight of the top 25. Our list includes links, hosting companies and an OPML file to import the top 25 into your podcast player.
May 31, 2024:
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Edison Research, SiriusXM Media and GroupM will release the Sports Audio Report in a webinar on June 13.
May 17, 2024:
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Edison Research released a new study, The Podcast Consumer 2024. The study contains benchmark data on US podcasting, ideal for advertisers to know about the podcast landscape - podcast listeners are more affluent and educated than the general population, the study says.
May 15, 2024:
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Edison Research has published its Top 50 Podcasts in the US for Q1 2024. There’s a new entry at #4: New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce. Our list includes hosts (Megaphone host 22 of the top 50) and links to each, with trailers where posted.
May 7, 2024:
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Edison Research will unveil The Podcast Consumer, the company’s data on who listens to podcasts, in a free webinar on May 16.
May 1, 2024:
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When listening to ad-supported audio, Americans are spending more than three times longer with the radio than with podcasts, according to “The Record”, new data from Nielsen and Edison Research. However, for younger listeners (18-34), time spent with podcasts and radio are nearly equal, at 37% vs 45%.
April 19, 2024:
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Sports fans in the US spend more than two hours longer with audio content every day, according to a preview of the Sports Audio Report from Edison Research, SiriusXM Media and GroupM.
April 11, 2024:
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30% of listeners to The Bible In A Year don’t listen to any other podcast, says Edison Research - which shares the top five shows for exclusive listeners today. Perhaps most surprisingly, also in the top five is iHeart’s Steve Harvey Morning Show: a network with much to gain from cross-promotion to other shows.
April 2, 2024:
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For 18-34 year-olds, podcasts are almost as popular as TV, says Pierre Bouvard of Cumulus Media and Westwood One, analysing Edison Research’s Infinite Dial data. 48% of 18-34s listen to podcasts each week - nearly as large as TV at 50%. Bouvard also shares “the one podcast slide every marketer should have”.
March 29, 2024:
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US podcast listening has hit an all-time high, according to a new study from Edison Research announced yesterday at Podcast Movement Evolutions. 47% of the US population 12+ has listened to a podcast over the past month, up 12% year over year. Women listeners are up 19%. We link to the whole data.
March 22, 2024:
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Edison Research shared the top ten podcasts among US women. Unusually for a podcast chart, Joe Rogan is at number two! Podcasts with women hosts take five of the top ten spots.
March 12, 2024:
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The top shows in the UK for Q4/23 were announced by Edison Research. The data, from Edison Podcast Metrics UK, says that the BBC has no shows in the top 10; and there’s only one US show in the top 10, too. Acast hosts the most shows in the list.
February 29, 2024:
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People in rural areas of the US listen to podcasts for only half the time as those in urban areas, says data from Edison Research today. Rural listeners consume just as much audio as urban listeners: but only spend half as much time listening to podcasts.
February 22, 2024:
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The #1 podcast among Black listeners in the US is the one you’d probably expect: Joe Rogan. However, six shows in the top ten have Black hosts, including The Breakfast Club with Charlamagne Tha God at #2, says Edison Research in the company’s weekly insights email. (That show is also broadcast on 152 US radio stations).
February 14, 2024:
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Edison Research has published the Top 50 Podcasts in the US. New Heights with Jason and Travis Kelce has shot into the top ten - the show has gained more than four times the amount of listeners, and saw a change in composition to 50% female listeners.
February 9, 2024:
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The Infinite Dial 2024 (for the US) will be unveiled at Evolutions by Podcast Movement in Los Angeles on Mar 28. The gold-standard study from Edison Research is America’s longest-running survey of digital media consumer behaviour. This year, it’s with support from Audacy, Cumulus Media, and SiriusXM Media.
February 8, 2024:
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The average person in the US spends 11% of their daily audio time listening to podcasts, according to the latest Share of Ear study from Edison Research. Radio is still doing more than three times that - plenty of space to grow. The company sends out a weekly insights email which is free.
January 11, 2024:
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Edison Research released the 25 biggest podcasts in the UK for Q3/23. Joe Rogan is still #1; new entries in the top 10 are Global’s The News Agents, Saving Grace from The Fellas Studios, and Spotify’s Parenting Hell. Broadcast analyst Adam Bowie reviewed the latest figures.
December 28, 2023:
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Americans spend over four hours a day with audio, says data from Edison Research. The total time has remained consistent over the past nine years.
November 10, 2023:
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Spoken Word audio is now more popular than ever. Data from NPR and Edison Research suggests that both audience size and listening time are the highest they've ever been for spoken word content.
November 7, 2023:
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Edison Research announced the top 50 podcasts in the US for Q3/23, based on reach. Former Kast Media show This Past Weekend with Theo Von made a top 10 debut at #5, Distractible made a top 20 debut at #15. Joe Rogan is still #1 for podcasts.
November 1, 2023:
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NPR and Edison Research will unveil The Spoken Word Audio Report on Nov 9 at 2pm ET.
October 19, 2023:
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If your listeners have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto in their car, they listen to podcasts almost twice as long as those who don't. This new data is posted by Edison Research, showing that CarPlay or Android Auto reduces the amount of radio listening by almost a third.
October 6, 2023:
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The Latino Podcast Listener Report 2023 was published by Edison Research. Monthly podcast listening among Latinos increased by 52% since 2020, nearly four times faster than the general population, the data suggests.
September 29, 2023:
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In the UK, BBC Sounds is the third biggest platform used most often to listen to podcasts, according to Edison Podcast Metrics UK. Spotify is #1. Speaking on the Podnews Weekly Review, Edison Research's Melissa Kiesche also reveals big differences with Joe Rogan's audiences in the UK and the US.
September 15, 2023:
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Edison Research will release the Latino Podcast Listener Report 2023 on Oct 5
September 8, 2023:
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Edison Research released the shows with a highest concentration of listeners in households earning $100,000+. Gimlet and The Wall Street Journal's The Journal is #1.
September 1, 2023:
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Nielsen released a new Podcasting Today report, with data from Edison Research and Nielsen Scarborough Podcast Buying Power. The total US podcast audience has grown 68% in the last five years, with the number of Hispanic listeners almost doubling. Comedy is the most popular genre.
August 29, 2023:
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Podcasting represents 11.4 minutes of every hour listening to "ad-supported audio". Cumulus Media and Westwood One has written up its analysis of Edison Research's Share of Ear Q2/23.
August 25, 2023:
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For the first time ever, Americans are listening to more on-demand audio (like podcasts and music services) than live, linear audio (like radio), according to data from Edison Research released this week. Larry Rosin, the company's President, says that though there will always be a place for linear radio, the trend will continue into the future.
August 23, 2023:
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Gabriel Soto from Edison Research unveiled a demographic breakdown of weekly podcast listeners, above. "Boomers" are less familiar with podcasting and listen far less; but 91% have a smartphone - representing a significant opportunity for growing podcasts overall. An overview will be in the company's Weekly Insights newsletter in a few weeks.
August 2, 2023:
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Edison Research has published the US Top 50 Podcasts for Q2 2023 - the first time that Edison Podcast Metrics has produced a quarterly ranker. The Joe Rogan Experience is #1, Crime Junkie is at #2 and The Daily is at #3; the highest new entry was Bad Friends, a comedy podcast from Andrew Santino and Bobby Lee, at #34. The survey interviewed 5,352 weekly podcast consumers in the US, aged 13+.
July 28, 2023:
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Edison Research revealed the Kids Podcast Listener Report. 29% of kids aged 6-12, in the US, are monthly podcast listeners. 87% of them have shared something they learned from a podcast with others. The report is free to download.
July 26, 2023:
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Variety claims that Spotify Podcasts's High Growth Era Is Probably Over, using data from Edison Research that appears to show a slight dip in spoken word's share on the platform. Podcasts account for 1 out of 5 hours consumed on Spotify.
July 20, 2023:
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What are the top 10 podcasts amongst women in the US? No, the #1 isn't Joe Rogan, either. Edison Research looks at the last six months of Edison Podcast Metrics to show us.
July 18, 2023:
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Edison Research is to unveil the Kids Podcast Listener Report in a webinar on Jul 27 at 2pm EDT.
July 4, 2023:
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The core audience for podcasts are men aged 25-34, says Edison Research; they spend 16% of their total audio time with the medium. However, podcasting does worst with men ages 55-64 - who spend four times less time.
June 27, 2023:
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Australia leads the world when it comes to podcast listening, according to the Edison Research Infinite Dial 2023 Australia study, which was revealed earlier today. 43% of Australians listen to a podcast every month (compared to the US's 42%); a third every week (compared to the US's 31%).
June 16, 2023:
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Gen Z podcast listeners discover shows through social media, according to a new study from Edison Research and SXM Media. The study also discovers that those who started listening as kids are consuming 10.6 hours of podcasts a week.
June 13, 2023:
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Edison Research says that 46% of weekly podcast listeners have bought a product or service because they heard a podcast ad for it. The data is up from 34% in Q1/20.
June 9, 2023:
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Radiodays North America is halfway through in Toronto ON, Canada. Among the speakers today, Fatima Zaidi from Quill and CoHost, Sharon Taylor from Omny Studio and Lina Kim from The Podcast Exchange are some of the panel talking about making money from podcasting; Edison Research's Larry Rosin discusses trends in audio, and our Editor James Cridland speaks about great tools from podcasting.
June 8, 2023:
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The Infinite Dial 2023 Australia will be presented on Jun 27. The data, from Edison Research, contains the gold standard number for how many people listen to podcasts in the country.
June 2, 2023:
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The Gen Z Podcast Listener Report was unveiled by SXM Media, focusing on US podcast listeners aged between 13-24. According to the study from Edison Research, 47% have listened to podcasts in the last month, and they are more diverse than US monthly podcast listeners as a whole. They discover shows by using YouTube, TikTok and Instagram. The report will be the subject of a free webinar on Jun 15.
May 29, 2023:
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Adam Bowie was in the audience during the Edison Research presentation at The Podcast Show 2023. He posts more of the UK data shared at the event.
May 17, 2023:
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Edison Research released the top 50 podcasts in the US over the past six months. New entries in the top ten are SmartLess and Dateline NBC.
May 4, 2023:
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The time Americans spend listening to podcasting has hit another record high. The Share of Ear study from Edison Research suggests that podcasts now account for 9% of all time Americans spend with audio. They account for 31% of all time spent with spoken word audio.
May 2, 2023:
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Data: Cumulus Media shares 7 New Findings About The Podcast Audience, from the Share of Ear study conducted by Edison Research.
April 17, 2023:
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We reported on Edison Research's "batting average" data a few weeks ago, suggesting that true crime is "the genre that yields the highest chance for a hit". Curious, we compared the top 200 list with all 4.05mn podcasts in the Podcast Index, rather than Edison's own comparison with 20,000 shows, just to see if it made a difference. It didn't: the top 5 genres remained unchanged.
April 14, 2023:
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In a new study (here presented on video), "Hit Play, Boomer!", Edison Research and NPR have revealed that podcast listening among those aged 55+, so-called "boomers", has not grown in recent years. There is, however, a lot of opportunity in this age-group, said the President of Edison Research, Larry "boomer" Rosin, sharing opportunities to reach the audience.
April 6, 2023:
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Wonder why so many big companies are still pitching true crime shows? Because true crime is most likely to be a hit podcast, says Edison Research, comparing "the batting average" of more than 20,000 shows in different genres. News, comedy, science and history also have a better-than-average chance of hitting a home run, says the data.
April 4, 2023:
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With NPR, Edison Research is to release data about podcast listeners aged 55+. The webinar is on Apr 13.
March 15, 2023:
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Data: Podcast creators seem fine with AI being used to generate podcast content, though podcast listeners are less convinced, says research from Acast. (Podnews does not use AI for generation of content) … Edison Research is announcing the top three podcasts in the US (based on total audience) in many popular genres this week. Here's fiction, music and tv/film, and education, science and history.
March 14, 2023:
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Data: Edison Research has published The Podcast Consumer 2023, a set of data from the Infinite Dial looking at US listeners to podcasting (and perfect for your slide deck). It was presented by Megan Lazovick and Wondery's General Manager Jeanine Wright at Podcast Movement.
March 13, 2023:
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Data: Podcasting represents 12% of all time spent listening to ad-supported media, says Edison Research. Podcasting is beaten by AM/FM Radio and YouTube for all ages.
March 3, 2023:
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Podcast listening has hit record highs, according to The Infinite Dial® from Edison Research: now, 120mn Americans are listening to podcasts at least once a month (above); weekly podcast listening also increased. Find an infographic with podcast data below, watch the webinar, or download the full deck.
February 23, 2023:
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The Black Listener Report was published by Edison Research with SXM Media and Mindshare. The data suggests that Black Americans are more likely to listen to podcasts monthly (43%) than the total US population (38%) (though less likely to listen weekly).
February 16, 2023:
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The most listened-to sports podcast in the US for H2/22 is The Bill Simmons Podcast, according to Edison Research, who published the top three.
February 6, 2023:
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Data: of all people aged 13-34 in the US, one third listen to a podcast every day says Edison Research.
February 2, 2023:
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43% of Black Americans said they had listened to a podcast in the last month - five points higher than the total population, according to new data from SXM Media, Mindshare and Edison Research. The data was released in The Black Podcast Listener Report.
February 1, 2023:
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Edison Research's Share of Ear and Edison Podcast Metrics are to be marketed to advertising agencies by Nielsen. It's a significant step for the study, which is the only survey to measure all podcast listening across the US.
January 30, 2023:
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Edison Research is to release two new podcast listener studies this quarter. Hit Play, Boomer: Podcasting’s 55+ Opportunity and The Gen Z Podcast Listening Report will focus on podcast habits, motivations and behaviours of these two groups, and will be the most detailed data about these listeners to be published.
January 26, 2023:
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Edison Research has highlighted the "most efficient" podcasts in different regions of the US.
January 12, 2023:
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Edison Research released its ranker for US top podcast genres, for the period Oct 21 to Sep 22. Comedy remains at #1; News has dipped to #3 behind Society & Culture.
December 16, 2022:
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Edison Research has unveiled the US "top 50 most listened to podcasts" for the twelve months ending Sep 2022. Notably, The Ben Shapiro Show has climbed over the last four quarters from #12 (end Q4), to #9 (end Q1), to #7 (end Q2), to #5 (end Q3).
December 15, 2022:
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The Women's Podcast Report from SXM Media and Edison Research is now available to download.
December 1, 2022:
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First look: Podcast listenership among women in the US is up, says a fact sheet from The Women's Podcast Report 2022, released today by SXM Media and Edison Research. 47 million women have listened in the past month: 35% of all women aged 18+, a figure that's grown by 67% over the past five years.
November 18, 2022:
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The Infinite Dial New Zealand was published by Edison Research. 39% of adults in the country are monthly podcast listeners, placing them (just) above the US. 30% are weekly podcast listeners; and radio continues to do particularly well in the country.
November 14, 2022:
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Podcasting's daily reach continues to rise: Edison Research posts a 20% y-on-y increase in their latest Share of Ear survey; now, 18% of people in the US aged 13+ listen every day. "This graph shows that more people are listening to podcasts, which means content creators have the opportunity to grow time spent listening with those people."
October 28, 2022:
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Spoken word audio continues to grow, with younger audiences (13-24) listening to more than twice as much spoken word in the last eight years, says The Spoken Word Audio Report 2022 from NPR and Edison Research. Podcast's share of time with spoken word audio has increased by 163% over the last eight years. The report is published in full on National Public Media's website.
October 21, 2022:
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Americans spend more time with audio on mobile devices than radio receivers says Edison Research.
October 14, 2022:
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SXM Media has discovered where and when people listen to podcasts with others. 12% of podcast listeners often listen with someone else: and the company has calculated that podcast advertising gets 5% more impressions from those co-listeners. Listening with someone else is most likely to happen in the car, or when cooking and eating; comedy is the most co-listened genre. The data was conducted with Edison Research and Carat.
September 15, 2022:
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The Infinite Dial, a study of media habits including podcast listening from Edison Research, is coming to New Zealand later this year.
September 14, 2022:
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Spotify is the top podcast network in the US based on reach, according to new data from Edison Research. The data measures total listeners to shows from each podcast publisher for the 12 months ending June 30 2022. Spotify's numbers include Spotify Originals, as well as shows from The Ringer, Gimlet, Parcast and others. iHeartRadio remains in third place, behind SXM Media.
September 8, 2022:
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Edison Research has posted a précis of Gabriel Soto's keynote at Podcast Movement in Dallas. Fear is good, he says, adding: "don't be afraid to learn something".
August 17, 2022:
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The Latino Podcast Listener Report 2022 was published by Edison Research. The number of US Latino podcast listeners over the past month has slightly declined year-on-year to 38%. Of Latino podcast listeners, 47% are women. Elsie Escobar, who co-presented the results, writes her big takeaways; as has Maribel Quezada Smith.
August 11, 2022:
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When do people listen to podcasts? Edison Research have shared some data suggesting that a quarter of all podcasts are listened-to between 6am-10am, the traditional peak time for broadcast radio.
August 4, 2022:
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The median age of a US podcast listener, based on total podcast listening time, is 36, says new data released by Edison Research. (The median age of an AM/FM listener, based on all radio listening? 51.)
August 3, 2022:
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Edison Research will unveil The Latino Podcast Listener Report 2022 in a free webinar on Aug 16. It'll be presented by Edison Research's Gabriel Soto and Elsie Escobar from Libsyn and She Podcasts.
July 22, 2022:
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Edison Research says that podcast listening has rebounded since the slightly disappointing Infinite Dial numbers released earlier this year. Gabriel Soto reports a sizeable increase in younger audiences. He'll be at Podcast Movement. (So will we!)
July 6, 2022:
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The Creators, Sounds Profitable and Edison Research's study into people that make podcasts, has published a full transcript, as well as a video of the webinar.
July 4, 2022:
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Are there opportunities for podcasting outside the big cities? Larry Rosin looks at the data from Edison Research's Infinite Dial, suggesting that fewer people listen to podcasts in small cities and rural areas.
July 1, 2022:
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Edison Research released the Infinite Dial Canada. Forty-three percent of Canadians 18+ listen to podcasts monthly, up five percentage points from 2021, which means that Canadians now outpace Americans (38%) and Australians (40%) for monthly podcast listening. Downloads here.
June 30, 2022:
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Edison Research will increase the sample size of Edison Podcast Metrics by 150% - moving to 5,000 interviews of weekly podcast listeners per quarter. The data is the only comprehensive podcast ranker available in the US.
June 29, 2022:
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Edison Research released The Infinite Dial Australia, the company's annual look at audio consumption in the country. Monthly podcast listening hit 40% among Australians 18+, up from 37% in 2021. (The US equivalent (for 12+) is 38%, down from 41%).
June 23, 2022:
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Edison Research's Gabriel Soto is to speak at Podcast Movement, "presenting the opportunities that Edison Research sees for podcasters in 2022". Podcast Movement has announced another set of speakers for their event in Dallas this August. (We note that Kai Chuk from YouTube is also slated as a speaker.)
June 17, 2022:
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Edison Research and NPR released The Smart Audio Report. 62% of American adults use a voice assistant; 35% now own a smart speaker; 47% purchased them, in part, to listen to podcasts (and 39% of people use their smart speaker to listen to podcasts in a typical week). Two-thirds listen to news on their device (like Podnews).
June 15, 2022:
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In the weekly newsletter with Podsights, Sounds Profitable has announced "the first credible study of the profile of podcast creators in America". The research will be yearly, to track trends and changes in the creator space. The Creators, by Sounds Profitable and Edison Research, will be unveiled on Jun 28: you can register for the free webinar.
June 3, 2022:
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Pre-promoting the release of The Smart Audio Report 2022 on June 16 (free registration), Edison Research has shared the below graph, showing there's still plenty of room for podcast listening to grow on smart speakers.
May 27, 2022:
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How many podcasts do you need to advertise on to reach 75% of all US weekly podcast listeners? Edison Research has crunched the data.
May 20, 2022:
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In the US, Joe Rogan reaches at least twice as many people as the next most popular show, according to new data released by Edison Research. Describing what's popularly known as 'the long tail', President of Edison Research, Larry Rosin notes that "more than half of all the listening happening in the top thousand podcasts is happening in the top 100". It's the first of a new weekly email from the company.
May 16, 2022:
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At Radiodays Europe in Malmö, Sweden, Edison Research's Tom Webster argued that "habit" is the #1 growth opportunity for podcasting: recommending that podcasters consider how to produce consistent shows that keep people coming back, week after week. He was speaking alongside Denmark Radio's Rasmus Kidde.
May 13, 2022:
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The Edison Research Podcast Consumer Tracking Report has a new name: Edison Podcast Metrics. The company has released the top 50 most listened-to podcasts in the US over the last twelve months: Joe Rogan is #1 and has increased his listenership, the company says. Dateline NBC and The Ben Shapiro Show are new entries to the top ten; The Daily has slipped a place to #3. The data is unique in including all available podcasts.
May 10, 2022:
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Tom Webster has announced he is to join Sounds Profitable as Partner. Writing in Sounds Profitable with AdvertiseCast, he outlines the future for Sounds Profitable - to share content, research, and run events and advisory services to help set the course for the future of the audio business. Last month, Webster announced he was to leave Edison Research. To learn more, you should subscribe to Sounds Profitable.
May 5, 2022:
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Podtrac has published the top 20 podcasts for the US for April. There's no change in the top 5, but My Favorite Murder is brand new at #6. Amazon bought the rights in January; it's already a top ten podcast with Triton Digital’s Podcast Ranker and Edison Research’s Podcast Consumer Tracking Report. Podtrac's data is participating publishers, now including Exactly Right Media.
May 2, 2022:
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Tom Webster has announced he is to leave Edison Research. In his newsletter, which also focuses on the recent Spotify financial results, he says he will leave Edison Research at the end of May, and "wants to continue to work to establish a podcast industry: a place where established networks and independent podcasters alike have fair access to information, revenue, and opportunity".
April 21, 2022:
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The UK media regulator Ofcom has published the results of its UK podcast survey 2022. Ofcom just published the data in a big spreadsheet with 30,000 rows, so we should all be grateful to Adam Bowie for looking at the data. It says that 25% of Brits listen to podcasts each month - the same figure as reported in Edison Research's Infinite Dial UK, and unchanged year-on-year.
March 31, 2022:
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Tom Webster dives into the detail from Edison Research's Infinite Dial, with more context and data around the apparent decline in podcast listening.
March 24, 2022:
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At Podcast Movement Evolutions, Edison Research unveiled the Infinite Dial 2022. For the first time, the number of US monthly podcast listeners dropped, slightly, to 38% (down from 41% a year ago). The slight drop was mainly 12-34 year-olds "going back to school, and going back to work" after the pandemic, said Edison Research SVP Tom Webster. Data was compiled in January. (The weekly listening figure is now 26%).
March 21, 2022:
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Podcasting is consolidating fast, according to Edison Research's Tom Webster. If you wanted to reach 50% of all weekly podcast consumers a year ago, you would need to have advertised on the top seven podcast networks. But after considerable acquisition of big independent shows in the past twelve months, you can now reach 50% of weekly listeners if you buy advertising on just four podcast networks, he says.
March 11, 2022:
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Radiodays Europe has announced a Podcast Summit in Malmö, Sweden this May. James Cridland, Podnews's Editor, will be moderating; among the speakers are Edison Research's Tom Webster, Rob Greenlee from Libsyn's AdvertiseCast, Julie Shapiro from PRX, and Bryan Barletta from Sounds Profitable.
March 9, 2022:
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Podcasts now make up a quarter of all time-listening on smart speakers, according to Edison Research's Share of Ear study. Cumulus Media and WestwoodOne's Audio Active Group has released its analysis on the latest data.
March 7, 2022:
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Host-read ads are the "beachfront property" of podcasting, according to Marshall Williams, the CEO of Ad Results Media. He's quoted by Edison Research's Tom Webster.
February 25, 2022:
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The Edison Research Infinite Dial South Africa has been released. Covering metro South Africa, the data shows monthly podcast listening has more than doubled in two years to 26% of the population. (We've updated our market data slides).
February 18, 2022:
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Edison Research released their Super Listeners study, with Ad Results Media. "Super listeners" - US adults who listen to 5+ hours of podcasts a week - are listening to podcasts longer, and pay more attention to ads on podcasts than other media. However, 22% say there are "way too many" adverts: a figure up from 18% last year.
February 16, 2022:
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After the company released the Black Podcast Listener Report last year, Edison Research is holding a networking session to get your feedback for the next report. It's on Mon Feb 28.
February 14, 2022:
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Saturday was Africa Podcast Day. The event was celebrated across the continent, including South Africa's SABC. Meanwhile, Edison Research has announced that the Infinite Dial South Africa will be unveiled on Feb 24.
February 10, 2022:
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This year's Edison Research Infinite Dial will be presented at Podcast Movement Evolutions on Mar 23. The research shows the total number of US adults who listen to podcasts, among other things. It's sponsored this year by Wondery and ART19; and you'll also be able to watch online.
February 8, 2022:
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Edison Research has released the top 50 US podcasts for 2021. The data is based on 8,000 interviews with podcast consumers. There's no change in the top five, with Joe Rogan at #1.
February 4, 2022:
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Edison Research and Ad Results Media are to debut their Super Listeners report in a webinar on Feb 16. It focuses on people who listen to five or more hours of podcasts weekly.
January 10, 2022:
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"Podcasting hasn't produced a new hit in years" claims Bloomberg, pointing to Edison Research's data and suggesting that none of the top 25 most popular podcasts (in the US) are less than two years old.
December 17, 2021:
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Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2022 will be announced at Podcast Movement Evolutions, the company has announced. Founder and President Larry Rosin is a guest this week on the Podland podcast.
November 30, 2021:
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The latest Share of Ear study from Edison Research suggests that more than a quarter of all Americans aged 18-34 are listening to podcasts every day. Podcasting's share of audio time has also dramatically grown. The results are quoted by Cumulus Media's Westwood One.
November 29, 2021:
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Facebook is growing for podcast consumption: Tom Webster from Edison Research reports that Q3/21 data showed that 20% of people had listened to a podcast on Facebook. The same data three months earlier was just 8%. Meanwhile, still no sign of podcasts in Facebook outside the US; though if you are, you can now add your podcast to the platform.
November 25, 2021:
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Edison Research's Infinite Dial is coming to the UK, with a webinar on Dec 2 at 2pm with the results. The UK has, until now, been without a direct comparison to the US, Canada and Australia in terms of podcast consumption (and other forms of audio).
November 18, 2021:
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Edison Research unveiled their latest US top 50 Podcast list by audience size.
November 12, 2021:
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Spoken word audio listening is dramatically increasing, says new data from Edison Research and NPR. Year-on-year, spoken word audio listening, including to podcasts, is up 8%, says the data - 75% of the US population listens to spoken word every month. (By comparison, 41% listen to podcasts, says the Infinite Dial research, so podcasting has plenty of growth left). You can grab the whole report here.
November 5, 2021:
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Podcast listening among Black Americans is surging, says findings from the first-ever Edison Research Black Podcast Listener Report by SXM Media and Mindshare. The report says that Black podcast fans would listen more if there were more podcasts with Black hosts.
November 2, 2021:
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Almost half of all podcast listeners in the US listen to at least one independent podcast every week, according to new data shared by Tom Webster from Edison Research. He also clarifies Spotify's claim to be #1 for podcasts: they are, and so are Apple.
October 18, 2021:
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She Podcasts took place over the weekend. We're looking forward to reading blogs and posts about it; but here's a snapshot of the top 10 podcasts, according to the Podcast Consumer Tracking Report from Edison Research, split by men and women. It made Arielle "glum".
October 11, 2021:
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Karina Farias has joined Edison Research as Project Coordinator. She was PD and morning host at KUFX-FM in San Jose CA, USA.
September 17, 2021:
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While podcast listening has grown, 44% of US Latinos haven't yet listened to a podcast; and 20% haven't listened in the last month - but, says data from Edison Research, that might change: two-thirds of them are already listening to spoken word audio. También tenemos esta noticia en español.
September 7, 2021:
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Earlier this year, SmartLess was also the second-highest new entry in the top 50 US podcasts from Edison Research's Podcast Consumer Tracking Report.
September 3, 2021:
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Edison Research is planning a webinar examining US Latinos who don't listen to podcasts.
August 31, 2021:
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Podcast listeners are young, upscale and educated, and described by Westwood One's Pierre Bouvard as "exceptionally attractive". The data is from Edison Research and Nielsen.
August 10, 2021:
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Edison Research has released the Top 50 US Podcasts by audience size, for Q2 2021. Joe Rogan is still #1, The Daily is #2, and Crime Junkie #3 - the data is compiled by asking participants what podcasts they listened-to in the past week, rather than raw download figures, and should measure everyone.
August 5, 2021:
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Being unable to travel from Melbourne VIC, Australia, didn't stop Triton Digital's Sharon Taylor from attending Podcast Movement (seen above with Edison Research's Tom Webster). Based at Triton Digital's stand, #RobotSharon has been dancing and making friends with many conference-goers. It's unclear how it works with a glass of wine.
July 14, 2021:
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The number of US Latino podcast listeners has soared. According to new data from Edison Research, the number of Latino listeners is up by 44% year-on-year; 36% of Latino adults are now listening every month. (Más información en español)
July 13, 2021:
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Australians love their smart speakers, according to new research from Edison Research and Commercial Radio Australia. 26% of people own one; compared to 33% in the US. The research doesn't specifically mention podcast consumption (though 41% claim to use it to "get the news").
June 30, 2021:
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CampaignAsia shares impressive data claiming that 66% of internet users in the Asia Pacific region listen to a podcast on an average day. The data, from GWI, says 54.4% of Australian internet users listen every day to podcasts: Edison Research's Infinite Dial data unveiled earlier this year quotes 37% of Australia's population listen every month, and the Reuters Institute also recently shared data saying 31% listen every month too.
June 29, 2021:
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Edison Research has announced a free-to-use Podcast Listener Survey template for podcasters, as well as a managed listener survey product. One of the first to use the managed product is Sounds Profitable, which writes more on it today.
June 9, 2021:
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Edison Research has announced the Smart Audio Report Australia 2021 will be webcast on June 23 at 11am AEST (see pod․events for your time), to look at where and how Australians are currently using smart speakers and voice assistants.
June 3, 2021:
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Podcast Movement 21 has announced their keynote speakers for their event in Nashville TN, USA; expect Kate Erickson from Entrepreneurs on Fire, and Tom Webster from Edison Research.
May 25, 2021:
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Working from home has led to an 'enormous shift' in US audio consumption, according to Edison Research.
May 24, 2021:
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Following our article last week about whether Spotify or Apple is the big dog of aggregator apps, Edison Research's Tom Webster adds some detail from The Podcast Consumer Tracker - what US podcast listeners say is the platform they use most.
May 12, 2021:
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If you want to learn more about Clubhouse users in America, Edison Research have a webinar next week.
May 10, 2021:
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HelloFresh, Manscaped and BetterHelp are the most recalled brands from podcast ads in Q1/21, Edison Research say, according to their Podcast Consumer Tracker.
May 5, 2021:
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It's Canada's turn for Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2021, which will be announced on May 13 at 2pm Toronto time. Last year, the research said 37% of Canadians (18+) listened to podcasts monthly. The research is designed for direct comparison between Canada and other countries.
April 28, 2021:
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Edison Research revealed The Infinite Dial 2021 Australia. It showed a significant growth for podcast consumption in the country. 37% of Australians (12+) listen to podcasts every month: a significant increase from 25% just a year ago.
April 9, 2021:
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Westwood One publishes data from Edison Research's Share of Ear. Podcasts are bigger than Pandora or Spotify in terms of share, the data says - with podcasting accounting for 25% of all ad-supported audio listening for 18-34s.
March 15, 2021:
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On the new Edison Research Infinite Dial results (which we published on Friday), Tom Webster says that the most striking thing about the new podcast consumption data is how normal it is after the year we've just had. Steven Goldstein discusses 'shelf space', what he says is the challenge for any podcaster.
March 12, 2021:
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More people are listening to podcasts than ever before. With Triton Digital, Edison Research has released its Infinite Dial 2021 study, which you can read in full on their website. Showing continued growth for podcast consumption, the study reports that 41%, or 116m of US adults 12+ now listen to podcasts every month. There are more numbers and analysis below.
March 10, 2021:
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A third of all Americans now own a smart speaker, according to Edison Research data. This data is released prior to their Infinite Dial 2021 webinar tomorrow.
March 9, 2021:
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This seemingly small change could dramatically affect the industry. Tom Webster from Edison Research says 47% of people who don't currently listen to podcasts think that 'subscribing' to a podcast will cost money, describing it as a stone in the shoe of podcasting's growth run. He tells Podnews: “Today, Apple, Spotify, and YouTube are the three most widely used services to play podcasts, and now the word Subscribe means ‘automatically download for free’ in exactly none of them. Podcasters will have no choice but to adapt their language accordingly or risk confusing listeners.”
March 8, 2021:
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The forthcoming Edison Research and Triton Digital "Infinite Dial" will tell us that "the amount of ad-skipping (in podcasts) is high", pre-warns Tom Webster in his newsletter. He points out that podcasts are the only audio medium that even has skippable ads.
March 1, 2021:
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Tom Webster's newsletter this week focuses on "hard data vs real data", examining the Edison Research Podcast Consumer Ranker, and the surprising appearance of Serial as the 13th biggest podcast (by total audience) in 2020.
February 10, 2021:
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Edison Research have revealed the most listened-to podcasts of 2020. Joe Rogan is #1. It's based on 8,042 online interviews with weekly podcast consumers, from Jan 6 to Dec 23. Here's the full list.
February 3, 2021:
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The Infinite Dial 2021, Edison Research's data about media consumption, is now accepting registrations for their webinar. It's the most-quoted data for podcast consumption in the US.
January 20, 2021:
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Edison Research explains how they do podcast brand lift studies.
January 15, 2021:
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Edison Research and Triton Digital have announced that The Infinite Dial 2021 will be presented on March 11th. This research of the US media market typically includes the most-quoted figure of the year for podcasting: the number of Americans aged 12 and over who consume podcasts per month. Last year the figure was 37% - equivalent to 104m people.
December 18, 2020:
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Edison Research has published their 10 for '20, a compilation of their biggest findings from 2020. Expect audio consumption, spoken word, and US election voting.
December 15, 2020:
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Edison Research is planning a final webinar for the year. 10 for '20 will showcase the company's ten most notable findings from 2020.
December 9, 2020:
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56% of heavy podcast listeners think the number of ads in podcasts is increasing; and 38% believe there are already too many, according to the Super Listeners Study from Edison Research, PodcastOne and Ad Results Media. However, listeners felt more positive towards ads than previous years.
November 27, 2020:
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Edison Research is to reveal their second Super Listeners 2020 study on December 8. It focuses on US podcast listeners who consume more than five hours of podcasts a week.
October 21, 2020:
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Podcast Movement Virtual kicked off yesterday with a keynote from Edison Research's Tom Webster. He unveiled the slide above - showing that podcasting's share of all audio listening is now 6% of all consumption. Fittingly, it was also World Statistics Day yesterday.
October 19, 2020:
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After writing about them in his weekly newsletter, Edison Research's Tom Webster has made an Spotify/Anchor Show With Music. "Ultimately, for version 1.0, I was pretty happy with the experience", he says.
October 14, 2020:
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Three-quarters of Americans listen to the spoken word - the latest from The 2020 Spoken Word Audio Report, published yesterday by NPR and Edison Research. From all audio, the share of spoken word audio listening, including podcasts, has increased by 30% over the last six years and by 8% in just the last year. The research also found that almost a third of all listening is to podcasts from NPR and public radio.
October 7, 2020:
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Podfront, a preview of new shows from seven of the US's largest podcast publishers, took place yesterday. A number of new shows were announced, and the event had high-profile guests including Hollywood actor Elle Fanning, comedian Sarah Silverman and NBA star JJ Redick, as well as podcast royalty like ABC News's Brad Mielke, NPR's Guy Raz, Wondery CEO Hernan Lopez, and Edison Research SVP Tom Webster.
October 5, 2020:
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US listeners are listening to 8% more spoken word than last year. That's the highlight from the upcoming Spoken Word Audio Report from NPR and Edison Research, which will be unveiled on October 13.
October 1, 2020:
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A clever promotional idea: Edison Research have produced a Spotify playlist featuring all their team member appearances on podcasts.
September 1, 2020:
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In quarantine, we're listening to podcasts for an extra half-hour a week. That's the findings of Edison Research, which unveiled data from its studies in a short, 13-minute presentation.
August 25, 2020:
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How has podcast listening has been affected by quarantine? Edison Research has a free webinar this Thursday.
August 13, 2020:
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Who's the #1 podcast in the US? Media Monitors has released their US top 25 podcast ranker - Edison Research released their own earlier this week. Both are based on audience recall, and measure 'people' rather than 'downloads'; Media Monitors uses research undertaken over two weeks in June, while Edison Research's study took 12-months, ending June 24). Both have The Joe Rogan Experience at #1, and The Daily at #2, but 40% of the shows in the top 25 don't exist in the 'other' top 25.
August 11, 2020:
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Edison Research has published a top 30 US Podcasts ranker. Called "the only podcast ranker that covers the entire US podcasting industry", it claims to measure shows by reach ("people"), not downloads; it's based on online interviews with over 8,000 weekly podcast consumers over a near 12-month period ending in June. We've published the full list.
July 27, 2020:
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In his latest newsletter, Edison Research's Tom Webster highlights what he calls The Most Shocking Audio Stat of the Year and What it Means, including a consideration of "Me Time" and a shout-out to long-time readers of Podnews at Curiosity Daily.
July 21, 2020:
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On-demand/digital device listening is now bigger than linear/analogue device listening, according to new data from Edison Research.
July 15, 2020:
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Edison Research's Tom Webster is on The Feed, the official Libsyn podcast. He focuses on the Latino Podcast Listener Report. The episode also includes average downloads stats: if your podcast is doing more than 120 downloads per episode, you're doing better than half the shows out there, says Libsyn VP Rob Walch.
July 14, 2020:
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Americans are starting their 'audio day' a little later, according to new research from Edison Research.
July 10, 2020:
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Americans are spending less time listening to YouTube, according to new data from Edison Research. 6% fewer Americans used it 'last week' according to the data. Joe Rogan comes off the platform in September. YouTube Music, the company's Spotify competitor, is likely to replace Google Play Music later this year: and hopefully Google Play Music Podcasts will stop being a thing.
July 6, 2020:
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An interesting data point from the Edison Research Latino Podcast Listener Report: 35% of Latinos who don't listen to podcasts say that the reason is "they're too long". We've updated our article on how long should a podcast be with this new data.
July 1, 2020:
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25% of Latinos in the US are monthly podcast listeners, according to the Latino Podcast Listener Report from Edison Research. Latinos also spend more time listening to audio.
June 30, 2020:
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Edison Research release their Latino Podcast Listener Report later today in a webinar, focusing on US latino audiences.
June 22, 2020:
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Edison Research did an "ask me anything about digital audio" last week. Here's the video recording of it.
June 19, 2020:
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Another set of podcasting data is on the way: Edison Research is unveiling the Latino Podcast Listener Report on June 30 (which covers US listeners only). Register here for the webinar in English or en español.
June 17, 2020:
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During the coronavirus pandemic, podcasting's "share of ear" - the amount of listening to podcasting vs everything else - jumped by 26%, according to Edison Research. They also noted that the share of at-home listening for all audio increased by 44%.
June 16, 2020:
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Almost 1 in 5 US podcast listeners (17%) have paid or donated money to listen to a podcast - and almost 1 in 5 (19%) say that they plan to in the next twelve months, says a piece of research for Variety. 19% of podcast listeners is, if you use Edison Research's Infinite Dial numbers, equivalent to at least 19.7m people willing to pay for podcasts.
June 10, 2020:
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Edison Research has revealed that podcast consumption in Australia is being driven by those aged 35-54. "This is likely due to higher listening of AM/FM/DAB+ radio among this age group, coupled with a perception that podcasts are simply previously-aired radio programs available on-demand".
June 8, 2020:
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Edison Research has revealed its US podcast ranker top 10. Unlike Podtrac or Triton Digital, who only measure downloads from selected publishers, the Edison Research data is calculated from 2,013 online interviews with podcast listeners about all the podcasts they listen to, which is then weighted to be nationally representative, and calculates reach ('people'), rather than total downloads. Joe Rogan is at #1; The Daily at #2; This American Life at #3.
June 5, 2020:
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37% of Canadians listen to podcasts every month, according to new data from Edison Research's Infinite Dial Canada 2020. That puts monthly Canadian podcast consumption on par with the US. Weekly listening is even higher than its southern neighbour, at 24%: the highest figure recorded by the international surveys so far.
May 20, 2020:
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25% of Australians listen to podcasts every month, according to new data from Edison Research's Infinite Dial. The country is roughly two years behind the US, which now stands on 37% monthly reach.
May 13, 2020:
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Edison Research is presenting a webinar "Podcasting: Connection and Community During Quarantine" - it will focus on how listening, and listeners, have been changing during the coronavirus pandemic. It's free, May 21 at 1pm Eastern.
May 1, 2020:
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Edison Research and NPR have released their Smart Audio Report 2020 showing how smart speakers are being used; the full report is on NPR's site. Podcasts don't get mentioned in the report by name (they're typically not listened-to on smart speakers) though the data does show an increase in people who want "the news" from their smart speaker.
April 29, 2020:
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There's a free webinar this morning (at 8.30am Pacific), called "State of Podcasting Amid COVID-19", being run by Ad Results Media with guests from Edison Research, NPR, Barstool Sports and Freakonomics.
April 23, 2020:
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Edison Research and NPR are releasing their Smart Audio Report, which looks at the usage of smart speakers, a little earlier this year, in a free webinar on Apr 30.
April 15, 2020:
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If you buy the top 5 US podcast networks, you reach 50% of weekly podcast consumers, according to new data from Edison Research's Podcast Consumer Tracker. "Achieving that kind of reach 10 years ago would have meant buying thousands of individual podcasts, but as these reach numbers continue to change, buying podcasts at scale is more feasible than ever," says Tom Webster. The networks aren't named.
April 6, 2020:
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Tom Webster from Edison Research took us inside the Infinite Dial, the company's media research, in a webinar late last week. The recording is now available.
March 26, 2020:
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Edison Research are planning an additional webinar, Inside The Infinite Dial, on Apr 3. Expect to hear "the entire content strategy behind the project, what we have learned over the last two decades, and how to translate that success to your content practices."
March 20, 2020:
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37% of US adults - over 104m people - now listen every month to podcasts, according to the newly-released Infinite Dial 2020 survey from Edison Research and Triton Digital. The figure has grown markedly from 32% a year ago. The data also shows podcasting continuing to head toward gender parity, and increased use of smart speakers. In other news, the research says that almost a third of all Americans no longer own an AM/FM radio.
March 13, 2020:
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Edison Research has cancelled its in-person unveiling of their Infinite Dial 2020 research, for COVID-19 reasons. You can sign up for the live webinar - Mar 19, 1pm Eastern; and they promise an extended Q&A session.
March 11, 2020:
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The Westwood One blog looks at Edison Research's Share of Ear report from Q3 2019, to conclude that: podcast listeners are super fans of audio; podcast listeners’ #1 content audio source is podcasts.
March 5, 2020:
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More Americans know what a podcast is than ever. In a keynote at the RAIN Podcast Business Summit yesterday, Edison Research SVP Tom Webster announced that, in the upcoming Infinite Dial 2020, 75% of US population 12+ say they are familiar with podcasting - a figure up from 70% last year. That's the equivalent of 212 million people. The new data is released on Mar 19 in a free webinar.
March 3, 2020:
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Radiodays Asia, a radio and podcast event in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has announced its first speakers, which include Edison Research's Tom Webster, radio and podcast consultant Valerie Geller, and Mae Mariyam Thomas from the Maed In India podcast.
February 28, 2020:
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ESPN accounts for 65% of all listening to digital sports audio in the US, according to Edison Research.
February 26, 2020:
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The email is signed by "Michele Cobb, Executive Director". Cobb is also the Executive Director of the Audio Publishers Association, "a not-for-profit trade association that advocates the common, collective business interests of audio publishers". It runs an audiobooks awards ceremony, a conference, and regularly commissions research about audiobooks from Edison Research (which also produces podcast research). Cobb also publishes AudioFile Magazine which publishes its own podcast; once worked for the BBC's audiobooks division, and runs her own consulting company.
February 24, 2020:
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Edison Research have released a top 10 podcast ranker, from its Podcast Consumer Tracker subscription product. The ranker is the top ten podcasts in the US by reach among weekly podcast consumers. It's based on 4,053 online interviews, making it the most robust reach-based study we've seen. Joe Rogan is #1, with This American Life at #2 and The Daily at #3.
February 11, 2020:
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Podfront LA is happening tomorrow morning in Los Angeles: eight podcast networks will be announcing new shows, and Edison Research's Tom Webster will be giving an opening keynote. The event is at Century City in Los Angeles: we'll have details of the announcements later. Podcast Movement Evolutions is later this week.
January 27, 2020:
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Edison Research's Infinite Dial will be presented live from New York City on Mar 19, in an event also available online. The data includes an expanded podcasting and smart speaker section, and is the survey of record for those interested in the medium's growth.
January 9, 2020:
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More than half of US adults use voice assistants, says new research from Edison Research and NPR. 24% of the population - 60m people - own at least one smart speaker device (and typical smart-speaker households now have 2.6 devices).
December 17, 2019:
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You're having a laugh: the most listened-to podcast genres in the US are... comedy, news, and "society & culture", according to new data released by Edison Research's Podcast Consumer Tracker, which the company calls "the only comprehensive measure of what podcast consumers are listening to (not downloading)". 36% of weekly podcast consumers are listening to at least one comedy show, according to the data, while 23% listen to a news show.
November 22, 2019:
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The above data is from the Pocket Casts app - but is it representative of all podcast users? In the US, The Podcast Consumer Tracker from Edison Research, released yesterday, highlights differences between users of iPhone vs Android, and different apps, too. Tom Webster told Podnews:
November 21, 2019:
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The Joe Rogan Experience is the most popular podcast in the US, according to the first data from Edison Research's Podcast Consumer Tracker. The report also says that 54% of podcast listeners listen to independent podcasts every week.
November 18, 2019:
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The Freenoter, with Tom Webster (you may know him as that great speaker from Edison Research) and Tamsen Webster (you might know her as a speaker trainer and "idea whisperer"), covers all the angles of how to build a profit from speaking for free. (Omny Studio)
November 13, 2019:
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Data: 24% of audio listening is to the spoken word, not to music. NPR and Edison Research's Spoken Word Audio Report has been released - the survey reveals that spoken word consumption (which includes podcasting as well as speech radio) has increased considerably in the past five years.
November 8, 2019:
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The share of time spent listening to spoken word audio has increased 20% since 2014, and this growth is cutting into time spent with music. So says the to-be-released Edison Research and NPR Spoken Word Audio Report: you can register for the free webinar here.
November 6, 2019:
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Edison Research are releasing their Spoken Word Audio Report on Tuesday in a webinar. You can register for that webinar, free, here and also get a copy of the report. It promises to show how spoken word, including podcasting, fits into US consumer behaviour.
November 1, 2019:
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Edison Research's Tom Webster has written a piece on what your podcast download numbers can't tell you, arguing that 'reach' is just as important as downloads.
October 23, 2019:
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Edison Research and PodcastOne's study into Podcast Super Listeners has been published in full. 44% of them listen to public radio each week (significantly more than the population as a whole). In the US, you can download the study here. (Redirected to a different country's PodcastOne affiliate? Use this form)
October 22, 2019:
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Edison Research have published SheListens: Insights on Women Podcast Listeners. First presented at She Podcasts LIVE, the data reveals that, per week, women listen to more podcasts than men: and listen longer.
October 17, 2019:
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60% of podcast "Super Listeners" appreciate podcast advertisers for supporting their favorite podcasts, according to new data revealed by Edison Research: and only 24% say there are too many ads in podcasts. However, podcast publishers are urged to be careful, since 50% of podcast super listeners want to limit their exposure to ads, says the topline results. You can register for a webinar of the complete study.
October 15, 2019:
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Edison Research has released the first Infinite Dial Germany, a survey to examine how Germans are consuming audio, made to be comparable with other countries. 17% of Germans have listened to a podcast in the past month, compared to 33% of the USA, 22% of Australia, 36% of Canada and 10% of the South African metro population.
October 11, 2019:
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Edison Research is about to unveil more data: this time, a look at podcasting's Super Listeners. "With both direct response and brand advertising increasing over the past few years, how do podcast consumers feel about the role of ads and commercial messages in the content they love?" You can join a free webinar on October 22.
September 16, 2019:
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The first-ever Infinite Dial South Africa, presented by Edison Research, NAB South Africa and Triton Digital, will be announced on Wednesday. Here's where to register for the free seminar.
September 2, 2019:
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Tom Webster from Edison Research has published a version of his Podcast Movement speech, Three Ways To Survive Podcasting's Existential Crisis. He suggests that listeners don't care about RSS, and just care about the show: however it's delivered. Webster recommends that we be on whatever platform listeners want us to be.
August 8, 2019:
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Audiences prefer shorter episodes and familiar hosts, according to a US survey. The survey also claims just 10% of US adults listen to podcasts several times a week. Edison Research suggests the number is more than twice that.
July 30, 2019:
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Edison Research has won an award for The Infinite Dial, the company's media consumption study.
July 29, 2019:
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RAJAR, the UK audio measurement company, has published the latest edition of their MIDAS study for summer 2019, which claims 16% of UK adults listen to podcasts weekly. That figure increases to 26% of 15-24 year-olds. The data also says that 92% of all listening to podcasts is done alone: that figure compares with just 54% of live radio. The numbers aren't directly comparable with the Edison Research data seen in other countries.
July 9, 2019:
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Comparable data about podcasting is coming to Germany, as Edison Research and RTL Deutschland bring The Infinite Dial to the country later this year. Germany joins Canada, Australia, South Africa and the US.
June 27, 2019:
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Only 18% of podcasts added a new episode in the last three months, according to the report we linked to yesterday from Amplifi Media. Tom Webster from Edison Research, writing the wonderfully alliterative A Pointed Perspective on the Purported Podfading Problem, also compares this number to TV schedules, adding that the word "podfading" is derogatory. Ta, Tom - top.
June 26, 2019:
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NPR and Edison Research have released their Smart Audio Report 2019. Their data suggests that 21% of American adults (53m people) own a smart speaker. Podcasts don't appear in the report, though 42% claim to use their speaker at least once a week to listen to the news.
June 25, 2019:
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Edison Research and NPR are unveiling their Smart Audio Report 2019 study today at 2pm New York time in a free webinar. Tom Webster and Joel Sucherman are presenting the highlights of their findings about smart speaker use. 69% of smart speaker users are using them daily; but a majority say they don't know enough about their device to use all the features it offers.
June 20, 2019:
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NPR and Edison Research are unveiling their new Smart Audio Report on June 25th at 2pm Eastern. You can register for the webinar here; it'll be presented by Tom Webster and Joel Sucherman.
June 4, 2019:
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WARC interviews Edison Research's Tom Webster on podcasting's route to mass media.
May 30, 2019:
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Expect to see podcast consumption data for a new country soon - Edison Research's Infinite Dial will be coming to South Africa with Triton Digital and NAB South Africa, the company has announced.
May 10, 2019:
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Edison Research and Triton Digital have unveiled their Infinite Dial data for Canada, speaking at Canadian Music Week in Toronto ON. 36% of Canadians 18+ are now monthly podcast listeners, up from 28% last year; and Canadians listen to an average of five podcasts. We took some snaps of the podcast section: there's a full webinar planned for Tues May 21, for which you can register online.
May 6, 2019:
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Edison Research have released a few more pieces of information about Infinite Dial Australia 2019. There's a webinar later this week with the full study.
May 3, 2019:
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Data: Edison Research have a webinar about Infinite Dial Australia next week (May 8, 9pm New York; May 9, 11am Sydney), and almost simultaneously they'll be revealing Infinite Dial Canada at Canadian Music Week (May 9, 12.25pm Toronto).
May 2, 2019:
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15% of Australians have listened to a podcast in the past week, says Edison Research in a partial release of their 2019 Infinite Dial Australia study. Aussie listeners consume an average of six podcasts each week. (The research is compiled to be directly comparable to other countries - in the US, 22% are weekly listeners; listening to an average of seven podcasts a week.)
April 29, 2019:
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Edison Research is announcing a new set of data for podcast networks and advertising agencies. The Podcast Consumer Quarterly Tracking Report is a subscription product which offers bespoke research for individual podcast networks.
April 15, 2019:
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Steven Goldstein says "Subscribe" is a bad word for podcasting, highlighting one of the pieces of data from the Edison Research Podcast Consumer study. He's not alone: Megaphone also says we should banish the verb “subscribe” from our free service. (Our podcast pages have never used it - we like the word "listen". You?)
April 12, 2019:
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Edison Research revealed their Podcast Consumer 2019 study yesterday in a webinar. They have posted the full slide deck and video on their website. On the Twitter hashtag, Midroll highlight that 70% of podcast consumers are doing "nothing else" when listening to podcasts; Mark Asquith highlights that 75% of non-listeners believe that podcasts are "just not for them", and sees this as a marketing opportunity; and Evo Terra highlights that podcast listeners overwhelmingly use their phones for just that.
April 11, 2019:
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Edison Research release The Podcast Consumer 2019 today. You can watch the webinar today at 2pm ET.
April 2, 2019:
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Date for your diary: Edison Research reveal The Podcast Consumer on Thursday April 11th. You can register for the webinar here.
March 15, 2019:
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Pacific Content's Steve Pratt has interviewed Edison Research's Tom Webster about the recent Infinite Dial data, and pulled out 10 big podcasting takeaways.
March 14, 2019:
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This isn't the first all-podcast station: back in 2005, KYOU in San Francisco tried this. Who had a listen? Why, Edison Research's Tom Webster did.
March 13, 2019:
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Edison Research's Tom Webster writes about the significant new podcasting stat hiding in plain sight: it's a figure that's flat.
March 12, 2019:
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Steven Goldstein has been poring over the latest Edison Research and Triton Digital results, and has discovered some interesting data - not least, how successful Spotify could be for podcasting.
March 7, 2019:
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Over half of US adults have listened to a podcast. Edison Research and Triton Digital have published Infinite Dial 2019, a set of research on US media consumption. One third of US adults (90 million people) listened to a podcast over the last month, the survey also reports. You can view the webinar here; or grab the slides. There is lots of data in the release, but - happily for us - the media have focused on podcasting's growth.
February 28, 2019:
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Tom Webster from Edison Research appears on the latest episode of Spreaker Live Show, talking about the upcoming Infinite Dial data release and free webinar.
February 27, 2019:
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Edison Research has given a sneak preview of one slide of their Infinite Dial data release next week. "This year, for the first time ever, half of the population uses YouTube as a music service every week," they say. You can register for the free webinar.
February 26, 2019:
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The RAIN Podcast Business Summit is next Tuesday in New York NY, USA, focusing on Unlocking the podcast mainstream. There are great speakers, including Google's Zack Reneau-Wedeen, NPR's Joel Sucherman, and Edison Research's Tom Webster. We'll be there, and you can be too - this Podnews-exclusive link will give you 50% off the ticket price.
February 11, 2019:
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This edition of Shareable Podcast features Edison Research's Tom Webster, known by many as the host of Infinite Dial and a great public speaker. He's interviewed in a show entitled 'Inside the World of Data-Driven Marketing'.
February 7, 2019:
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Tom Webster points out Edison Research numbers showing that 25% of audio listened-to is speech programming (aka "podcasts"), which explains why Spotify want to invest in podcasting if they want to be the #1 audio platform in the world. He also suggests that this paves the way for commercial music in podcasts (since Spotify holds the licences) - and perhaps means a reinvention of music radio, too.
February 5, 2019:
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Edison Research have revealed that we're listening to less of our own music tracks (both CDs and MP3s). "Five years ago 38% of all Americans ages 13 and older listened to owned music at some point each day, today this has fallen by one-third to 25%." The company promises a further blog post to explain whether all this listening has moved to online music services like Spotify - we'd hope podcasts have a part to play too.
January 29, 2019:
Welcome to the nearly 300 people who've subscribed over the past week, including folks from Acast, Bengo Media, the BBC, Edison Research, Entercom, NPR, Slate, USA Today, Condé Nast, Spotify, iHeartMedia and Himalaya. If you like Podnews, please let others know, and consider supporting us.
January 28, 2019:
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Edison Research's Tom Webster has written a guide to advertising that works in podcasting, based on dozens of ad-effectiveness surveys for advertisers and podcast networks that the company has done. Slapping in a radio spot into a podcast brings no particular benefit to an advertiser, he writes, and may even harm the podcast.
January 25, 2019:
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Set your calendars: the results of Triton Digital and Edison Research's 2019 US Infinite Dial survey will be live online on Wednesday, March 6, at 2pm ET. It contains lots of data about US audio consumption. You can join the webinar here.
January 23, 2019:
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Radiodays Europe has published its preliminary programme. This conference, in Lausanne Switzerland at the end of March, is the world's meeting point for the world of radio and audio. Tom Webster from Edison Research, and James Cridland, Podnews's Editor, are amongst the speakers.
January 8, 2019:
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The total number of smart-speakers has increased by 78% in the past year: and 21% of people in the US now have one. New data from NPR and Edison Research, from a survey conducted after the Dec 2018 holidays, shows a marked increase in ownership of smart speakers.
December 13, 2018:
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Radiodays Europe, a conference in Switzerland in late March, has just announced many more speakers, including our Editor James Cridland, Tom Webster from Edison Research, and ideas guru Wade Kingsley who tells us that brainstorming is nonsense, or words to that effect - here he is at Next Radio last year.
November 21, 2018:
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US podcasting has become listened-to by a more diverse audience, says Tom Webster from Edison Research.
October 8, 2018:
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The Podcast Consumer Canada 2018 report has been released by Edison Research and Triton Digital. 19% of adults are Weekly Podcast Listeners and 28% are Monthly Podcast Listeners.
October 2, 2018:
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Edison Research unveiled some data about in-car audio. Podcasting appeared not to be in the list, so we checked - it's part of the "other" category, at less than 4% of all audio listened-to in the car . Larry Rosin, who presented the data, told us:
August 21, 2018:
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B7 Media, a UK independent producer, has announced a deal with Eyewear Publishing to produce a range of audiobooks. (44% of Americans have listened to an audiobook; the same number as who've listened to a podcast - Edison Research Infinite Dial 2018)
August 1, 2018:
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Edison Research shares some of the numbers and data that Tom Webster discussed at Podcast Movement, focusing on why people don't listen to podcasts.
July 20, 2018:
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The Smart Audio Report from NPR and Edison Research has been released, highlighting the behaviour of the 43m Americans who own a smart speaker, according to the study. There is lots of data in the full slide deck. 39% of smart-speaker owners say they listen to podcasts at least once a week; 28% use their smart speaker to do so. Edison Research reveals more data at Podcast Movement.
July 12, 2018:
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NPR and Edison Research are unveiling their smart speaker Smart Audio Report on Wed Jul 18th at 1pm Eastern. You can register, free, to watch the webinar.
July 10, 2018:
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Edison Research is to unveil a new study at Podcast Movement: "Podcasting's Next Frontier: 100 Million Listeners". (We'll be there.)
June 27, 2018:
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Congratulations to Edison Research for doubling your office-space.
June 15, 2018:
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Tom Webster from Edison Research spoke at Radiodays Europe's Podcast Day from a hotel room after travel plans went awry. But it does mean we can watch his speech.
May 29, 2018:
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Larry Rosin from Edison Research will be presenting the Infinite Dial Australia 2018 report in a free webinar this Thursday at 11.30am Sydney time. There is lots of information about podcasting in this report; here's where to register.
May 18, 2018:
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Wireless Group, owned by News Corp, has launched Wireless Studios and hired podcast veteran Matt Hall. The press release also includes some new UK research from Edison Research and Mindshare. Rupert Murdoch's NewsCorp owns a set of national UK radio stations, newspapers, and publisher HarperCollins; and Wireless Group will shortly move to new offices with The Sun and The Times.
May 8, 2018:
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We reported on it last week, but it was quite hard to find. Edison Research have now published Infinite Dial 2018 for Australia on their website.
May 2, 2018:
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Edison Research have unveiled their Infinite Dial Australia research, which is directly comparable to their recent data from the US and Canada. 13% of Australians listen to podcasts every week. (Canada: 19%; US 17%). The research also says that 14% of weekly podcasts are from Australian radio.
April 24, 2018:
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DiscoverPods look at the Edison Research Podcast Consumer 2018 study. Kevin Goldberg doesn't share the optimism regarding podcast use on smart speakers.
April 20, 2018:
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Edison Research release Podcast Consumer 2018, the world's most-quoted research about podcasting, with Triton Digital. The weighted survey is based on telephone research (rather than online polling, which adds an obvious bias in many other studies), and interviewed 2,000 Americans. RAIN pores through the data.
April 10, 2018:
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Edison Research have announced that The Podcast Consumer 2018, with Triton Digital, will be presented on Thursday April 19th - here's where to sign up.
March 22, 2018:
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Edison Research's Infinite Dial Canada 2018 will be unveiled on April 4th, at 2pm Toronto time. It's the first release of the data especially for Canada, eh. You can register (and get the right timezone for you) over here.
March 20, 2018:
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Podcast listeners listen to podcasts more than anything else, according to new data from Edison Research's Share of Ear®. The data was released today at Radiodays Europe, the radio conference in Vienna, by Tom Webster. The amount of AM/FM radio listened-to drops from 51% of all audio to just 26% for those who have discovered podcasts. He was speaking in a panel with podnews editor James Cridland.
March 12, 2018:
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Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2018 research (which we covered on Mar 9) gets a lot of coverage. Steven Goldstein points out a few of his take-outs: particularly the study's findings that listeners are enjoying more podcasts per week. Radio World highlights advice from Edison Research's Tom Webster, not least "explain the contents, not the technology".
March 9, 2018:
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Edison Research's Infinite Dial 2018 came out yesterday. They survey is sponsored by Triton Digital. It reports:
February 28, 2018:
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A reminder that Edison Research's "Infinite Dial 2018" data is released on Thursday March 8th. It promises an expanded section about podcasting. Here's where to register.
February 21, 2018:
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The Houston Press posts 'five podcasts to check out if you're new to podcasting'. (As a reminder, that's most people: Edison Research says 60% of Americans have never listened to a podcast - in April 2017, at least).
February 7, 2018:
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Edison Research released more data around smart speakers, this time for the Country Radio Seminar. Country radio listeners (this means "listeners to country music" not rural listeners) are interestingly more likely to listen to AM/FM radio using their smart speaker.
January 24, 2018:
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On 11 Jan we reported the launch of the NPR and Edison Research Smart Audio Report and noted that it didn't contain details about podcast use. We asked: and they've told us:
January 17, 2018:
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Edison Research is expanding their Infinite Dial study to Canada - the research covers both radio and podcast data. They've also produced a version for Australia.
January 12, 2018:
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Steven Goldstein looks through the numbers from NPR and Edison Research's Smart Speaker study, unveiled yesterday.
January 11, 2018:
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US data from NPR and Edison Research was announced at CES today: The Smart Audio Report says lots of positive things about smart speakers (two-thirds are Amazon Echo, by the way). The word "podcasting" doesn't appear in the report, although it notices a high degree of use for news bulletins.
January 5, 2018:
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Edison Research, the company responsible for regular podcasting research in many markets as well as media research and election polling, has announced a major expansion as well as promotions for, among others, Tom Webster and Megan Lazovick (who have both presented the company's podcasting research). The company is based in Somerville NJ, USA.
December 18, 2017:
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Some data about audio-book consumption, including some numbers from Edison Research, who became a podnews silver sponsor on Friday.
November 16, 2017:
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HotPod 140 is out, focusing on Edison Research's data about "super listeners" (which we covered yesterday).
November 15, 2017:
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"Understanding public media's most engaged podcast users" is a new piece of (US) work from Edison Research - focusing on "the super listener". Lots, and lots, of good research and some nice infographics here too.
October 26, 2017:
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We linked to this video earlier, but here's Edison Research linking to their own Megan Lazovick speaking at Next Radio about "the pod people".
September 26, 2017:
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NPR and Edison Research unveil the second part of their smart (speaker) audio study.
September 7, 2017:
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Webinar: Edison Research goes through their Share of Speech report on September 13th.
August 29, 2017:
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Event: Next Radio, London, UK; Sep 18. The "radio ideas conference", but speakers from Audioboom, the Australian ABC, the BBC, Edison Research, and many more covering podcasting too.
August 25, 2017:
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Stats corner: The above piece comes with a stat apparently claiming 25% of all audio time on smartphones is to podcasting: it isn't; the figure is actually 6% (Edison Research Podcast Consumer 2017 p45). The errant figure probably comes from 24%, the number of Americans who listen to at least one podcast a month, according the same study (p47).
August 4, 2017:
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A German newspaper publishes a long piece about "Netflix for the ears", talking about both Spotify and Netflix adding German-language podcasts to its service. Spotify appears to have some exclusives, too - and as the article says, neither Spotify nor Deezer can differentiate themselves with music alone. (via Edison Research's Larry Rosin)
July 27, 2017:
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Next Radio, the UK-based conference, confirmed more speakers yesterday, including Megan Lazovick from Edison Research and Alex Adey from AudioBoom. Alex will be talking about the rise of unofficial, fan-based podcasting; Megan will cover Edison Research's podcast consumer research. Also speaking, Valerie Geller who is currently working on an LA-based podcast, and Liz Jaynes from BBC Radio, talking about artwork's ability to generate clicks. Tickets are £149; it's on September 18th in central London.
July 13, 2017:
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Interview with Tom Webster from Edison Research on the Duct Tape Podcast about podcasting's future. Here's a transcript.
July 5, 2017:
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Some data points from the recent Edison Research Infinite Dial study in Australia. Podcasting appears particularly strong in Australia: this article compares Australia with the US and says Aussies are more familiar but less vigorous in adoption.
June 26, 2017:
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Edison Research announces a Smart Audio Report webinar for Wednesday. Free.
June 2, 2017:
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Edison Research releases Share of Ear: Canada. Podcasts get 3% of "audio time"; radio (AM/FM/HD/IP/SiriusXM) gets 65%. (When comparing podcast v radio, remember podcasts finish, and radio doesn't.)