“Today we don’t hear much about them.”
That’s Paul Riismandel, President and Partner of audio market research company Signal Hill Insights. The question is answered in the title of his new column, “Smart TVs: The New Smart Speakers for Podcasts. [HERE]
Harking back to the launch of smart speakers over a decade ago, and the quick success which put the devices in a third of U.S. households by 2021, Riismandel calls upon Edison Research studies to remind us nearly half of consumers bought the speakers for podcast listening.
“Today,” he observes dryly, “we don’t hear much about them.”
According to his company’s survey work, 2021 was the plateau year for smart speakers. In that year nearly a third of weekly podcast consumers (31%, to be exact) reported listening via smart speaker. Now? That behavior has reduced to 20%.
Podcast listening across the board has not reduced; Riismandel reports 55% of 12+ Americans listen. that brings him to the main point:
“32% of weekly podcast consumers use a smart TV for their podcasts.”
That metric implies, and is the result of, a rise in popularity for video podcasts. Smart TV podcast use is more prevalent than laptops and smart speakers., and second only to smartphones.
It seems natural that a rise in smart TV ownership would have something to do with this trend, and the recent Signal Hill Insights study affirms that 32% of weekly podcast listeners use smart televisions — a larger percentage than for smart speakers, and second to the podcast listening device champ — smartphones.
Signal Hill Insights uses “Primaries” as a statistical group, meaning weekly podcast consumers who use a platform most often for podcasts. In the context of this report, “primaries” are consumers who use Smart TVs for podcasts. As seen below, it is YouTube primaries who beat other groups in using TV for podcasts. That might seem like a natural fit. Importantly, two other audience groups also listen to podcasts on TV, albeit smaller groups: Spotify primaries and Apple Podcast primaries (as illustrated below).
There is advice in this for podcasters:
At the turn of the decade broadcasters and podcasters started training listeners how to get their content on smart speakers. Looks like it may be time to instruct them on how to get podcasts on smart TVs. — Paul Riismandel, President and Partner, Signal Hill Insights
Smartly, Riismandel suggests that podcasters abandon the universal audio locator for their shows: “Wherever you get your podcasts.” And even further:
“Though it’s more work – and words – you might consider again telling them what apps and devices you recommend, to be sure you are actually found, where you want to be found.” (Emphasis by RAIN.)
“Having podcasts accessible on more devices in the home seems like a win for the industry,” Riismandel concludes. “But it’s also a challenge not to remain passive in the face of change.”
Read his piece HERE.