AM/FM radio dominates the audio landscape in America, but new content and distribution platforms are experiencing consumer adoption and growth. Hence the Cumulus Media Audioscape 2025, produced in partnership with Edison Research, Maru/Matchbox, Nielsen, and Advertiser Perceptions.
The two focal points here are podcasting and smart speakers, in four sections:
- Podcast consumer and listening trends
- Smart speaker consumer and listening trends
- Podcast consumption among smart speaker users
- Marketer and agency sentiment for advertising in podcasts and smart speaker environments
Podcast listener devotion
We learn quickly that podcast listeners are “super audio fans,” spending five hours a day listening to something, over an average of three adio platforms. They spend 5:22 (five hours, 22 minutes) per day with audio, compared the the total U.S. average of 3:57. And they use three audio platforms compared to the U.S. average of two. Furthermore, the share of ear among podcast listeners is 35% podcasts — much higher than radio, streaming, and other content.
Further, the share-of-ear trend has grown overeight years, as illustrated below:
Listening Platforms
Then there is the question of which consumption platforms are most used. This could be called the YouTube Section:

Interestingly, TuneIn and Wondery both show zero percent listening. And while YouTube is the winner here, YouTube Music claims only one percent.
The share-of-platform is dominated by YouTube, Apple’s podcasts app, and Spotify. IN another chart, we see how those three giants have bettled for supremacy over six years:
In one of the slides in this section we learn two things: The podcast audience is young, and showing signs of getting older:
How Advertising Fits
It goes without saying that podcast advertising works; if it didn’t, studies like this would have no central proposition. One reason for its effectiveness is “extraordinary levels of consumer concentration.” Eighty-one percent of surveyed listeners report “high levels ofconcentration” when listening to podcasts, compared to 49% claiming that sort of focus when listening to music, and 50% when checking social media.
That high level of concentration leads to high engagement, and justifies high CPMs for podcast advertising, this study asserts.
It’s not all about audience numbers; audience demographics matter too.
“Podcasts deliver upscale, educated consumers” –Audioscape 2025
Smart Speakers
Smart speaker usage has generally grown since the introduction of the intelligen devices, but this study shows shrinking ownership over the last two years:
We learn a great deal about user profiles in the Smart Speaker section. A key point for advertisers: Smart speaker ownership over-indexes in the top 10 markets, and is below average in markets 51+.
And, as we have seen in many other profiles, the smart speaker ownership profileis upscale and educated, over-indexing in employment, income, and education level.
Finally for our roundup, Podcastlisteners aremorelikely (44%) to be smart speaker owners, compared to the total U.S. (37%).
Agency / Advertiser Interest
In the Advertiser Perceptions section we find that podcasting comes up in 84% of agency and brand conversations. And 65% “definitely would consider” advertising in podcasts within sixmonths. Fifty-nine percent already do. The chart below summarizes advertiser discussions, intention, and usage:
Takeaways
Cumulus Media boils down the key takeaways below. But remember: This article is an incomplete sketch of a 50-page PDF — we strongly recommend grabbing the original. It is HERE.