Key Podcast Statistics And Figures From 2020

Last updated on June 23rd, 2022 at 04:25 am

A podcast is an easy listening audio file that records any spoken information, which can be used on any personal device. The formation and dissemination of these podcasts across the internet are known as podcasting.

The dictionary definition of a podcast is:

“It’s a digital audio file that can be downloaded to a computer or mobile device, from the internet which is usually found as a series that should be subscribed to use.”

People find podcasts an easy medium because it consumes less time compared to others. Podcasts can also be used wherever we are. Most of the podcasts are free and only a few of them are paid. Types of podcasts are-

• Enhanced podcasts
• Podcast novels
• Video podcasts
• Live podcasts

Podcasting technology started gaining popularity almost from the year 2000. 

As per a report on Podcast Insights, Apple Podcast was showing over 850 million available. And this industry is growing at an increasing rate. According to Nielson, iOS users who listen to podcasts are 52%, Android users who use podcasts are 43%, it was reported that about 40 million people among 500 million Internet users are podcast listeners in the year 2018.

After doing a lot of research regarding this topic, we would like to section it in the following terms:

Global Podcast Listening statistics

According to Podcasts Insights, The State Podcasting South Korea leads with 58% in the world by the percentage of people who have listened to a podcast in the past month.

According to Edison Research Infinite dial 2020, Podcasts Listener stats are :

1. In 2019, 70% of the population of the US are familiar with the term ‘ podcasting’, which was upgraded to 75% (Infinite dial,2020)
2. Half of all US homes are podcast fans (Nielsen, Aug 2017)
3. The podcast listener has increased from 51% in 2019 to 55% (155 million) {Infinite Dial 2020}
4. From 32% in 2019, the podcast listener has increased to 37% (104million) {Infinite Dial 20}
5. Podcast weekly listeners has increased from 22% in 2019 to 24%,64 million. (Infinite Dial 20)
6. 16 million people in the US are “avid podcast fans” (Nielsen Q1 2018)
7. Percent of podcast male listeners are same as US population,

• i.e., 51% (Infinite Dial 20)

8. The family income of 45% of monthly podcast listener is over $75K – vs 35% for the total population
9. 27% of US podcast listeners possess a 4-year college degree – vs 19% for the US population.
10. Among the podcast listeners, 63% are white – vs 58% for the US population (Infinite Dial 20)
11. Age of monthly podcast listeners versus US population (Infinite Dial 20):

• 12-34yrs: 48% (vs 37%)
• 35-54yrs: 32% (vs 40%)
• 55+yrs: 20% (vs 23%)

12. In 2017, 51 % of people listened to podcasts from home which decreased to 49%.
13. Rate of people who listen to podcasts while driving is the same as in 2017, i.e., 22%.
14. The average subscription done by podcasts listeners is 6 shows in the last week (Infinite Dial 2020)
15. In 2017, 5 different shows were listened to by podcast listeners per week, which increased to 7 shows.
16. In 2017, 86% of podcast listeners listened to all or most of each episode, which came down to 80%.
17. Podcast listening on a computer went up from 29% to 31% whereas smartphone listening went from 71% to 69% respectively.
18. 48% of podcasters use various podcast editing tools and services to edit their podcast.
19. 19% of listeners increase their speed.
20. Among all the monthly podcast listeners, 65% have been listening for less than 3 years.
21. The most popular genre in podcasting is Comedy. Education and News are considered 2nd and 3rd respectively

According to Neilson,2018 podcasting insights, a medium of podcast listener stats are :

1. 94% of podcast listeners are active on at least one compared to 81% of podcast listeners for the entire population.
2. Most companies and brands are followed by podcast listeners on social media
3. Podcast listeners are less likely to be subject to TV ads rather they prefer subscribing to Netflix or Amazon Prime.
4. 51% of bottled water households are podcast listeners (Nielsen, Q3 2017)
5. 57% of baby food households are podcast listeners (Nielsen, Q3 2017)
6. 53% of beer households are podcast listeners (Nielsen, Q3 2017)
7. 56% of juice households are podcast fans (Nielsen, Q1 2018)
8. 54% of milk households are podcast fans (Nielsen, Q1 2018)
9. 54% of cereal households are podcast fans (Nielsen, Q1 2018)
10. 69% of the podcast listeners agreed that podcast ads made them conscious of new products or services.

According to the Podcasthosting.org report, combining all the free and non-free companies, there are a total of 30+ companies that are hosting podcasts. All the companies offer almost the same features, with similar looks and sound.

As per the survey done by Podcasthosting.org, buzzsprout, Captivate, Transistor, etc are some of the better podcast hosting platforms.

Thus, Podcasts are a highly increasing media that have no signs of slowing down in the future.

About author.

Ross Plotkin is a founder of Barevalue – A Podcast Editing Company that offers podcast editing services and show notes writing services. He usually writes articles on the topic of podcasting such as tips, guides, and information that can be helpful for beginners and advanced podcasters.