Signal Hill Insights and Triton Digital have released a study called The Listening and Consumer Habits of the Black Podcast Audience. (It is HERE.)
“Black Americans are a vital force within the American podcast audience.” –Jeff Vidler, President/Founder, Signal Hill Insights
The published study is in three types of black audience podcast consumption:
- Proportion of monthly listeners
- Favorite podcast topic categories
- One particular demographic slice
SBOs
Let’s start with the demographic focus. The survey delivered an understanding that many black listeners are small business owners — 12 to 13 percent. That might not seem like a notable cohort in size, but when we check the national statistic for small business ownership in America, we see 10% according to the Small Business Administration and Pew Research Center.
Further, the study report compares black SBOs with the survey population, which is 11 percent. So — slim differentiation for sure, but the point is that any population with robust SBO involvement makes a good podcast advertising audience.
Content Preferences
Getting straight to the point, it is Sports, Music, and Religion/spirituality. Black listeners significantly over-index in listening to those categories.
The study’s lesson to advertisers is straightforward: “Reaching Black listeners starts with a strategy that speaks to their specific preferences.”
Monthly Listening
About that monthly listening: the study trends it from Q2 2023 to Q3 2024, showing significant growth:
This research comes from a partnership with Triton Digital launched in 2021, resulting in a service that integrates Signal Hill survey data with Triton’s download data. The result is what Vidler calls “comprehensive demographic and sociodemographic profiles for thousands of podcasts.”
Interestingly, 46% of respondents said they started listening in the past year. We don’t tell fortunes, but that signals quick growth.
Again, the public survey report is HERE.