The Future of Podcasting: Where Are We Now?

Welcome back to our five-part series on podcasting! If you missed our first two pieces, make sure to check them out — the first is an intro to the series and our interest in the space, and the second gives a brief history of podcasts.

Last week, we covered the most significant developments in podcasting since 2003, when the first podcast was created. Now, we’ll focus on how listener metrics have changed over time, the factors driving podcast growth, and some of the issues that have prevented podcasts from going mainstream.

Who is Listening to Podcasts?

Since 2006, Edison Research has conducted an annual survey to track podcast listening in the U.S. According to Edison’s 2017 survey, 60% of Americans over the age of 12 are familiar with the term “podcasting”, 40% have listened to a podcast at least once, and 24% have listened to a podcast in the past month.

While podcast listening has increased significantly over the past decade (only 22% of Americans were familiar with the term “podcasting” in 2006), podcasts still have a relatively small listener base compared to other forms of content — according to Nielsen, 93% of Americans over the age of 12 listen to the radio on a weekly basis, and 87% watch TV.

Courtesy of Edison Research and Triton Digital’s “The Podcast Consumer 2017” report.

Even as a percentage of time spent listening to audio, podcasts have a relatively small “share of ear.” The average American spends nearly four hours per day listening to audio, but only 19% of this time is spent listening on a smartphone (where the majority of podcast listening occurs). Podcasts represent 2% of total audio listening time — radio and other forms of streaming audio are much more popular.

Courtesy of Edison Research and Triton Digital’s “The Podcast Consumer 2017” report.

While the podcast listener base may still be small, regular listeners are typically engaged and loyal fans. According to Edison Research, the average podcast listener subscribes to six shows, listens to five episodes per week, and consumes more than five hours of podcast content on a weekly basis. When a listener finds a good show, he or she tends to stick around —in a survey of nearly 170,000 podcast listeners, Midroll Media found that 88% listen to most or all episodes from podcasts they subscribe to.

Podcast listeners are typically young — 44% are under the age of 34 and 84% are under the age of 55. They also tend to be relatively wealthy (45% make $75k+ per year, compared to 35% of the broader population) and well-educated (57% have graduated from college, compared to 41% of the broader population).

Regular podcast listeners are also more likely to be employed full or part-time. Courtesy of Edison Research.

LinkedIn’s “Millennial Minute” team found in a 2016 survey that 35% of LinkedIn members globally listen to podcasts. Senior-level decision makers were more likely to listen — of those who knew what a podcast was, 44% said they regularly make time to listen to podcasts, compared to 36% of their more junior colleagues.

While certain characteristics may make someone more likely to listen to podcasts regularly, Serial proved that podcasts have the ability to cross demographic boundaries and become mainstream. According to NPR VP of Programming Eric Nuzum, Serial “blew podcasting up to a whole new audience.” Radio legend Ira Glass told The Hollywood Reporter that downloads of This American Life were up 25% in the wake of Serial.

Affinio analyzed all “@Serial” tweets to determine the demographics of Serial fans, and found that Serial “tribes” ranged from teen girls in Brazil to pastors.

What is Driving Podcast Growth?

As illustrated by the graphs above, the percentage of Americans who regularly listen to podcasts has grown steadily over time. Other than the Serial effect, what are the key factors driving this growth?

• Improved in-car audio. Car manufacturers have enhanced their digital audio solutions, and now allow smartphones to connect via Apple’s CarPlay and Android Auto, enabling easy listening on-the-go.
• Greater mobile penetration. 77% of Americans now own a smartphone, up from 35% in 2011, according to Pew Research Center. Most podcast listening (~70%, according to Edison Research) happens on phones.

Midroll Media surveyed 165,000 podcast listeners on when and where they consume podcasts.

• More listening options. Apple added a native podcast app to all iPhones in 2015, and there has been an explosion in listening apps for both iPhone and Android, notably Stitcher, Overcast, Pocket Casts, and DoggCatcher.
• Prominent brands bringing audiences. Celebrities (e.g. Anderson Cooper, Alec Baldwin, and Chelsea Peretti) and media outlets(e.g. Netflix, Buzzfeed, and NYT) have launched podcasts and often bring their fans with them.
• Easier creation. Many companies offer free (or cheap) hosting and ad services, simplifying the creation/management process. Libsyn (a hosting platform) had more signups in 2015 than any time in its 11-year history.

What is Preventing Widespread Adoption?

With all of these trends working in favor of podcasts, it’s somewhat surprising that only 24% of Americans report listening on a monthly basis. However, there are a few factors preventing podcasts from becoming more mainstream:

• Friction in listening. The process of listening to a podcast has many potential failure points. Listening to a podcast requires navigating to an app, selecting a show and episode, and then downloading or streaming it — much more difficult than turning on the TV or radio!
• Long-form audio content requires commitment. Unlike text, images, or even videos (which can be fast-forwarded), audio content isn’t “skimmable.” A podcast user has to decide, based on a sentence or two, whether to commit to long-form content from a likely unfamiliar host.
• Quality can be spotty. Most TV and radio content is heavily vetted and professionally produced, but anyone can publish a podcast. This makes the medium more democratic, but one or two bad experiences (with poor audio quality or content) can turn someone off podcasts for good.
• There is no real curation. In a world where custom, data-driven recommendations are the new normal (see Amazon, Netflix, Spotify), podcast discovery falls woefully short. The Apple Podcast app, where ~70% of listening occurs, recommends the same shows to everyone, making it less likely a user will find a show that makes them stick around.
• Audio is hard to share. Compared to pictures, songs, and short videos, podcasts are difficult to share socially. Would you rather embed a Youtube clip into a Facebook post or include a link to a third-party website that hosts a podcast? Even if someone clicks through, they have to listen to several minutes of intros and ads before the content starts.
• Listener habits dissuade sharing. The fact that many people listen to podcasts on-the-go makes sharing less likely. If you are listening while driving or working out, it’s unlikely you are going to pause what you’re doing to text the podcast to others or post something on social media.

Thanks for reading this week’s article! Check in next week for an exploration of monetization options for podcasters.