41% of UK adults have listened to a podcast in the last month according to the Infinite Dial 2021 UK from Edison Research, Bauer Media Group UK and Spotify. The research carried out in the fourth quarter of 2021 surveyed a nationally representative sample of 1000 UK residents aged 16+ on a variety of measures including online digital audio platforms, radio, social media, smart speakers, and more.
Findings from the study show several strengths in the audio space in the UK, including podcasts.
- 41% of UK residents age 16+ (approximately 23 million people) have listened to a podcast in the last month
- 71% are familiar with podcasts, and
- 59% of those have ever listened to a podcast.
The UK is on par with the US regarding monthly podcast listening, as both countries have 41% of the 16+ population who have listened in the last month. The UK is slightly behind the US regarding weekly podcast listening as 25% of the UK population has listened to a podcast in the last week versus 29% of the US population having listened in the last week. Weekly podcast listeners in the UK listen to an average of five podcast episodes per week.
75% of UK residents listen to online audio each month, and 66% listen to online audio each week.
Facebook is the social media brand used most often, even among younger people. 55% of social media users use Facebook most often, followed by Instagram (8%), Snapchat (8%) and TikTok (7%). Among those age 16-34, the rank is the same but the proportions are different: 48% use Facebook most often followed by Instagram (14%), Snapchat (15%) and TikTok (10%)
One-quarter (25%) of the UK population owns a smart speaker. Of those who own a smart speaker, 44% own one, 28% own two, and 28% own three or more of the devices.
Larry Rosin, President of Edison Research said, “It is exciting to analyse the findings from the UK Infinite Dial in the context of other countries. It is evident that the UK is on par regarding many measures of consumption, including monthly podcast listening, and actually outpaces the US in areas like weekly radio reach and weekly online audio reach.”
James Cator, Spotify UK and Ireland, Head of Studios, said, “The first Infinite Dial report for the UK is a clear demonstration that consumers’ habits when it comes to audio consumption have changed rapidly, and are continuing to do so. As the UK’s most popular audio platform, Spotify is a key part of driving and delivering this change – as we’re seeing in podcast consumption in particular. You only have to look at how excited people have been to receive their Spotify Wrapped 2021 year-in-review to understand the enormous role that audio plays for people, and how creators soundtrack the world around us.”
The Infinite Dial 2021 UK report is freely available here.
