Daily reach of podcasts in U.S. now 18%, says Edison Research

A new finding just released by Edison Research from its quarterly U.S. “Share of Ear” national study says that, of respondents in its Q3 2022 survey wave, 18% listened to podcasts on the day they were surveyed, up from 15% in its 2021 interviews.

The accompanying release noted, “In the first year of the Share of Ear survey, podcasts reached 5% of those in the U.S. age 13+. As of our most recent data, Q3 2022, podcasts now reach 18% of those age 13+ in the U.S. — a 20% increase in the past year (Q3 2021), and over three times the reach of 2014.

“The years in between show a steady growth in reach. There have been some fluctuations in podcast reach from quarter to quarter as we saw the beginning and end of quarantine restrictions, but this graph that shows the climb of podcast reach should be encouraging for the podcast community. 

“Podcasts account for 24% of all spoken word audio consumption among those age 13+ according to the latest Share of Ear data, and we know that time spent with podcasts has grown.

“But this graph isn’t about time spent with podcasts. This graph shows that more people are listening to podcasts, which means content creators have the opportunity to grow time spent listening with those people.”

RAIN Analysis: Edison Research has two national studies it releases to the general public — an annual “The Infinite Dial” study that is based on a fairly-long questionnaire filled out by respondents, and a quarterly “Share of Ear” study that’s based on respondents filling in a 24-hour diary of their audio listening behavior.

Here’s what Tne Infinite Dial said about podcasting’s weekly cume earlier this year:

Read the full release, including a catchy “The Price is Right” (Barker, not Cullen) reference, here.

 

Kurt Hanson