American ‘super listeners’ listen to 11.2 hours of podcasts weekly with Super Listeners increasingly finding podcast content on YouTube. These findings are part of third Super Listeners Study from Edison Research in partnership with Ad Results Media based on a survey of Podcast ‘Super Listeners’ Americans aged 18+ who listen to five or more hours of podcasts weekly.
The survey was primarily intended to find out what podcast Super Listeners felt about advertising within podcast content but revealed that YouTube and video podcasts are becoming more popular amongst this group of listeners. It also showed that consumer attitudes to companies and products was enhanced when they were mentioned in a podcast.
Key findings from the report
- Super Listeners spend an average of 11.2 hours listening to podcasts weekly. This is up from 10.5 hours last year and 9.8 hours the year before.
- 51% of podcast Super Listeners agree that they pay more attention to ads on podcasts than on other media, up from 48% last year.
- 53% of podcast Super Listeners agree that their opinion of a company is more positive when it is on a podcast they regularly listen to, up from 49% last year.
- 50% of podcast Super Listeners agree that advertising on a podcast is the best way for a brand to reach them, up from 49% last year.
- Over half (56%) of Super Listeners said that hearing an ad on a podcast (compared to other places) makes them more likely to purchase a product, up from 54% last year.
- 59% of Super Listeners say the total number of ads in the podcast they regularly listen to has increased, up from 56% last year.
- 43% of Super Listeners say the length of the average ad break in the podcast they regularly listen to has increased, up from 41% last year.
- 22% of Super Listeners said that there are “way too many” advertisements on podcasts relative to other types of media, up from 18% last year
- This year’s study saw an increase in the number of Super Listeners who believe it is important or very important to limit their exposure to advertising, up to 59% to 50% from last year.
- Over half (55%) of Super Listeners currently ever listen to podcasts through YouTube, and 20% listen to podcasts through YouTube most often, second only to Spotify (23%).
- 19% of Super Listeners say they discover podcasts most often through YouTube, ahead of recommendations from friends and family (17%) and searching the internet (13%).
The Super Listeners Study from Edison Research in partnership with Ad Results Media is free to download here.
