Kids Podcast Data Shows a Route to New Listeners
Recently released listener data from Edison Research and Kids Listen shows that kids love to learn through podcasts — and it’s a key component of creating new listeners.
The release of the Kids Podcast Listener Report is a milestone for children’s podcasts and the kids’ audio industry in general. For the first time, we’re learning about podcast listening from both kids and parents in a large national survey. The top line finding answers a long-asked question about awareness of kids’ podcasts. 63% of kids age 6–12 are aware of podcasts, and that number jumps to 74% among parents who are monthly podcast listeners. Nearly half of all kids (46%) have ever listened to a podcast.
These are reassuring findings that establish a strong baseline of listenership. But it’s the data about how and why kids listen to podcasts — and what might convert new listeners — that can chart a course for the future.
We think one of the most exciting data points comes from kids:
- 94% of kids ages 6–12 who have listened to a podcast in the last month say they learn new things from podcasts.
- 84% of this group have shared what they’ve learned from a podcast with other people.
That’s an incredible result. It means that no matter what genre, subject, or type of podcast they’re listening to, kids recognize that podcasts are a good way to learn new things. And what they’re learning is so interesting to them, the vast majority of listeners want to share it with someone else.
This reinforces what we’ve heard for years from listeners of Tumble Science Podcast for Kids. Honestly, it’s reflective of what we know about children’s behavior in general. Kids love to learn and share what they learn. Now we know that they see podcasts as a way to get that information, while being entertained. When kids were asked they listen to podcasts:
- 59% said they’re fun to listen to.
- 37% said they like learning new things.
So while having fun (or relieving boredom, as suggested by in-person interviews) is a primary motivator to listen to podcasts, kids see learning as a benefit of listening to podcasts. Parents, too: 81% of parents of monthly kids podcast listeners said it was important to them that podcasts make learning fun. That’s a view shared by parents of non-listeners, and our first clue to listener conversion.
75% of parents of non-listeners responded that their child might be interested in listening to podcasts “if podcasts made learning fun” and also, “if podcasts taught them something new.”
That’s just barely behind “if podcasts were based on their favorite TV shows” (79%) and “if podcasts were based on their favorite movies” (77%).
That’s what parents say they think their kids want. But the clearest signal of what kids want comes from kids themselves. Both kid monthly listeners and non-listeners ranked Games followed by Music on the top of their lists about what genre they currently listen to, and would be interested in listening to, respectively.
The message of what’s appealing to kid listeners is clear: They want to learn more through podcasts, as it’s related to the media they already love. This is not to say that there is no room for new IP in kids podcasting. But it is a pathway to bring new audiences into podcasting, and strengthen demand for all kinds of new content. Once kids get into the habit of listening, they need more to listen to — and there’s plenty of other ways to discover it.
Historically, holders of big IP have been hesitant to jump into kids podcasts. One reason for that may be there’s never been a full picture of the potential listenership. This new national data shows that there’s a cushion to jump onto and experiment with. The report also found that families are willing to pay for the podcasts they love, and that parents have high engagement with products advertised on kids podcasts.
But don’t forget what we’ve learned about the power of learning, because it leads to an essential question:
If kids want to hear about what they already know, but they love learning new things to share, what does that mean for podcast content?
We think it means that every podcast should be designed with learning in mind. Learning is what makes podcast content shareable.
When kids are telling their friends about something they learned, it’s going to continue to create new listeners. 36% of monthly kid podcast listeners learn about podcasts from their friends. That’s compared to 52% from parents, and interestingly, 29% from teachers. Learning holds a strong appeal for those last two sources, who are influential gatekeepers for new media discovery.
As a children’s educational audio company, we believe in the power of podcasts to help equalize access to learning, both at home and in the classroom. There’s a lot to be found by unpacking this data — and we plan to keep doing it — but this is the first big insight for us. Combining existing IP and/or podcasts about the things kids love with a focus on learning, is the most obvious way to grow the kids’ podcast listening audience with new content.
Lindsay Patterson is the CEO of Tumble Media, and co-founder and research co-lead of Kids Listen. She consulted on the Kids Podcast Listener Report and co-presented the webinar about the results. Tumble Media is also a sponsor of the Kids Podcast Listener Report.
Learn more about Tumble Media and the services we offer, from consulting to production, on our website, makekidspodcasts.com.
