In today’s world, it’s pretty hard to stumble upon a person who hasn’t listened to at least one podcast or heard about a famous podcast throughout their lifetime. Podcast statistics show that this type of show has seen a huge rise in popularity over the past decade.
There are currently over 2,000,000 podcasts on iTunes.
Judging by the average podcast growth, chances are that you are probably listening to over two or three podcasts weekly.
550,000 podcasts was the number reported by Apple in early June.
The number of podcasts has almost quadrupled in a 3-year time span.
48 million episodes have been uploaded on iTunes as of April 2021.
And there are countless other podcast streaming services. This means that the number of podcasts episodes worldwide is way higher.
But what are your favorite ones? Are you subscribed to a podcast streaming platform? Check out these impressive statistics about podcasts below and let us know if you have any recommendations about and for the podcast industry.
How many podcasts are there?
Sure, you may listen to a podcast or two, maybe even three. But what’s the total number of podcasts on iTunes, or worldwide for that matter?
850,000 active podcasts is the latest number, January 2020.
Based on the same research, there are over 30,000,000 podcast episodes.
Top 10 Most Popular Podcasts In The World
- The Joe Rogan Experience
- The Daily
- Crime Junkie
- This American Life
- My Favorite Murder
- Stuff You Should Know
- Office Ladies
- Pod Save America
- Planet Money
- Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me!
Spotify signed a $100 million exclusivity deal with Joe Rogan in 2020.
By signing this deal, The Joe Rogan Experience podcast is now available exclusively on Spotify.
Global Podcast Statistics & Trends
The latest podcast market stats and podcast trends show a huge increase in terms of new listeners, the number of new shows, and ad revenues.
37% (104 million) of US podcast listeners have tuned into a podcast in the last month.
These numbers are up from 32% in 2019 according to research conducted by Infinite Dial 20.
Podcast listeners are much more active on every social media channel.
All the data shows that 94% are active on at least one social network, as opposed to 81% for the entire population of the United States.
Comedy is the most popular podcasting genre.
It’s followed by education and news, based on the number of fans.
16 million people in the United States are “avid podcast fansâ€ÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂÂ.
That’s the term used by Nielsen in their Q1 study for 2018.
Podcast listeners are more inclined to subscribe to Netflix or Amazon Prime.
This stat shows that podcast fans are less inclined to watch TV advertising.
TOP 5 Podcast Directories
If you’re looking to find out where to listen to, or where to upload podcasts, these are the most popular podcast directories in the world.
- iTunes / Apple Podcasts
- Spotify
- Google Podcasts
- Stitcher
- TuneIn
Growth of Podcasting Statistics
The latest podcast growth statistics show that the number of listeners has more than doubled in the last decade.
22% of the United States population listened to podcasts in 2009.
Today, more than half of all Americans listen to at least one podcast.
The number of podcast listeners has more than doubled since 2015.
According to a study conducted by Edison Research, in a time span of just 5 years, the number of US podcast listeners has more than doubled. And the trends are going to stay on the positive side for the upcoming years as well.
The podcast ad revenue is now $1 billion per year.
That’s ten times more than $105.7 billion spent on podcast ads in 2015.
Approximately 30% of US respondents who have listened to at least one podcast said that they listen to podcasts more now than 1 year ago.
To put things in perspective, this means that one out of every 3 podcast listeners is tuning in to more shows than last year.
Spotify is investing $500 million in the most popular podcast companies.
When a company like Spotify invests in you, you know you’re on the right track to success.
Podcast Listener Demographics
Podcasts are so diverse and cover such a vast range of subjects, from science to sports, from obscure hobbies to eccentric stories, that you’ll find people of all ages and from all corners of the Earth listening to them.
27% of the total US podcast listeners have a 4-year college degree.
As opposed to the total average of 19% for the United States population.
Podcast listeners by gender: 49% men and 51% women.
Although there are more female podcast listeners, men listeners are more active on a monthly basis.
63% of podcast listeners in the United States are white caucasians.
The total white population of the United States is 58%.
36% of male listeners tune to a podcast at least once a month.
As opposed to only 29% of women podcast listeners.
45% of active monthly podcast listeners have a household income of over $75K.
That’s over the US national average.
How Many Tech Podcasts Are There Online?
There are loads of tech podcasts in almost all the languages around the globe, but if you’re interested in finding out the best, have a look at the TOP 5 Tech Podcasts below:
- Accidental Tech Podcast
This tech podcast hosted by three moderators has over 75,000 downloads per episode with a sponsorship fee of $5,000.
- Analog(ue) podcast
The podcast has almost 200 episodes, and their numbers just keep on growing.
- Clockwise podcast
Clockwise is one of the fastest growing tech podcasts available today with close to 400 episodes.
- Tech Talker podcast
This show is hosted by Eric Escobar and it’s gathering more and more traction throughout the tech community.
- The Vergecast podcast
One of the most popular podcasts of the moment, available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, Pocket Casts, and Stitcher.
What’s The Behavior Of Podcast Listeners?
51% of consumers above the age of 12 in the United States listen to at least one podcast.
That’s a 6% growth from 44% in 2018, according to Statista’s 2019 numbers.
90% of US podcast listeners tune in to their shows from home.
That’s every 9 out of 10 American podcast listeners who choose to listen to shows from their home, rather than on the bus, subway, or in their cars.
Only 22% of podcast listeners tune in while driving.
These numbers are almost the same as the ones for 2017.
What’s The Average Time Spent On Podcasts?
Mobile app podcast listeners are more inclined to listen to a full episode.
This comes in opposition from people who listen to podcasts from their web browser.
82% of podcast listeners spend more than seven hours per week tuning into podcasts.
The stats are based on US podcast listeners, according to a study done by Discover Pods in 2019.
1 hour per day is the average time a podcast listener will spend tuning into his favorite shows.
That’s more than the time they spend on TV and social media.
22.4% of listeners spend more than 22 hours a week.
That’s over 3 hours a day dedicated to podcast listening. Of course, sometimes, podcasts can be played in the background instead of music, or the radio.
What Devices Are The Most Used For Listening To Podcasts?
65% of listeners in the US use devices such as smartphones and tablets to listen to podcasts.
According to an Edison Research dating back to 2019, only a quarter of podcast listeners prefer to listen to their favorite shows on computers or laptops.
Podcast listeners are more inclined to own a smart speaker.
The most popular devices owned by podcasters (listeners, not producers) are Amazon Alexa or Google Home.
With What Frequency Do People Listen Or Download Podcasts?
32% of Americans tune in to podcasts on a monthly basis.
Following the latest podcast listener numbers, this means that one third of the US audience is active at least once a month in the podcast streaming universe.
65% of active monthly podcast listeners have been listening for less than 3 years.
The constantly increasing number of podcasts naturally leads to an increase in the number of podcast fans.
The average podcast listener is subscribed to 6 podcasts and listens to 7 shows per week.
That’s according to the latest Edison Research analysis.
19% of listeners increase the speed (listen faster)
We live in a very fast-paced environment and podcast listening makes no exception to this unwritten rule of society.
Why Do People Listen to Podcasts?
The reasons for listening to a podcast can vary a lot, based on the type of person you are, the country you live in, or the line of work you presently find yourself into. You could listen to podcasts for fun, to learn something new, or even out of pure boredom.
But let’s see what the latest podcasting stats say about this.
3 out of 4 people listen to podcasts to learn new things.
This applies for US listeners, based on the research conducted by Statista in 2019.
People usually tune in to podcasts on a monthly basis.
According to the same source, these listeners download or listen to a podcast at least once a month.
55% (155 million) of the total US population has listened to at least one podcast.
These numbers show an increase from 51% in 2019, based on Infinite Dial 20.
Podcast Discovery Stats
As opposed to the early 2000s, when podcasts were not a mainstream thing, today, podcast listeners represent a huge source of revenue for platforms like iTunes, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and the list can go on and on.
70% of the US population is now aware of what a podcast is.
This is a pretty impressive growth in numbers as opposed to 64% in 2018.
35% of people don’t listen to podcasts because they don’t know where to find them.
According to the Edison Research done in late 2019 for podcast listeners statistics, a lot of people are interested in knowing more about this industry, but are unable to find the necessary resources.
54% of people would much rather buy a brand’s products/services after hearing about them in a podcast.
This just proves to show you the power of podcast advertising.
43% of people discover new podcasts by posting a question on social media.
Or by asking around online communities. This is word of mouth working at its finest.
Podcast listeners tend to be more faithful to brands and to follow them on social media.
This interesting podcast stat shows that podcast listeners are more loyal to a brand if it’s associated with their favorite show.
Podcast Equipment & Gear Stats
When you first dip your toes into the podcasting industry, either as a podcast host, or as a podcast listener, you’ll quickly start learning about the best equipment and gear this domain has to offer.
Best podcasting microphones
Entry Level:
- Entry: Samson Q2U
- Entry: ATR2100
- Entry: Rode Smartlav+
Professional:
- PRO: Heil PR40
- PRO: Shure SM7b
- PRO: Rode NT1-A
- PRO: Electro-Voice R20
High Quality:
- High: Rode Podcaster/Procaster
- High: Blue Yeti
- High: MXL990
- High: Shure SM58
- High: AKG Lyra
If you’re interested in starting your own podcast, you should seriously consider the list of microphones we’ve listed above, sorted by The Podcast Host.
The TOP 10 most popular podcast microphone brands
- RODE
- Blue
- Audio Technica
- Samson
- Zoom
- Logitech
- MXL
- Behringer
- Sennheiser
- Heil
Podcast Ads & Revenue Stats
Whenever you see that an industry is constantly growing, you can bet your house on the fact that ads and revenue stats are also going through the roof.
Podcast advertising revenues will surpass $1 billion per year by 2021.
These numbers are sky-high compared to podcast market size of 2018, which reached “only†$479 million in podcast ads.
TOP 10 countries who are most active in the podcast industry
- South Korea – 58% (percentage of respondents who have listened to a podcast in the last month)
- Spain – 40%
- Sweden 36%
- Australia – 33%
- United States – 33%
- Italy – 30%
- Canada – 28 %
- France – 28%
- Japan – 26%
- Germany – 22%
The United Kingdom ranks 11, with only 18% of its respondents having listened to a podcast in the past month.
These numbers are important because they are directly proportional to the ad revenues generated by podcasts in that specific country, area, or region.
Conclusion
No matter how you choose to look at the whole podcast phenomena, sooner or later, you’re bound to listen to one. This may happen because a friend will recommend it, or because a writer, singer, or scientist you admire will be making an appearance in a podcast.
All the latest podcast statistics show that this type of communicating with an audience is on the rise. Podcast growth will continue to stay on a positive trend for many years to come, as more and more celebrities are responding to invitations from podcast hosts.
What’s your favorite podcast? What type of podcasts do you listen to? What platform for following podcasts do you use?
