When they’re not tracking elections or broader market trends, Edison Research provides insight into the audio tech industry.
This year, their lauded Infinite Dial report has revealed that podcast listening in the U.S. is at an all-time high. It represents a major milestone in audible entertainment, especially for services that have invested in podcast hosting in recent years.
Podcasts & Streaming
Podcasting first emerged when we figured out how to package and distribute audio through RSS feeds, allowing listeners to stream those files to their own devices. Starting back in the early 2000s, it was arguably one of the earliest use cases for on-demand streaming.
Since then, streaming has exploded to become one of the most popular ways of consuming entertainment media. Today, on-demand video streaming leads the market while other industries like iGaming also use similar tech to deliver their services.
Besides iGaming’s typical catalogue of games, they use live streaming where players can experience blackjack online, facilitated by a real dealer. Now one of the earliest and simplest ways to stream is more dominant than ever, as podcasters have found high demand amongst modern audiences.
Part of podcasting’s appeal is how broad it can be. There are approximately 4 million podcasts registered with hosting services across the world, and that’s not counting amateur operations. They can cover every single topic, from true crime to pop science, or niche industry concerns.
Many focus on entertainment and current affairs, with their true appeal coming from the personalities of the hosts. In online media circles, it’s a common joke that every celebrity is starting a podcast nowadays.
If they’re not starting one, they’re going onto someone else’s to give their perspective on different topics, or to get a laugh out of listeners. In podcasting, no one host is exactly the same, which further makes podcasting unique.
The Infinite Dial Report
The Infinite Dial consumer report tracks several things, including smart device ownership, audiobook listening and social media usage. The 2024 report announced that podcasting is at an all-time high, where podcasting received 12 dedicated pages out of 49.
Edison Research’s findings show a plateau in podcast familiarity – 84% over 2023’s 83%. While that’s a small increase, it translates to an estimated 241 million people in the US who have at least heard of podcasting.
Active listening is where we see a clear increase – 67% over 64% in 2023. That means 192 million people, roughly a third of the USA, are listeners of at least one podcast in the last month.
In reality, a lot of them are likely to have other podcasts they are interested in since the landscape is so broad. Of the recorded participants, 34% of them were weekly listeners, not just monthly listeners. 13% listened monthly while 20% listened to podcasts, but less than once a month.
The sharpest increase in listeners was seen in the 35-54 and 55+ age demographics. In 2023, roughly half of the recorded 35-54 demographic had listened to a podcast in the last 30 days at 51%. This increased to 55% for 2024.
In 2023, 55+ listener data was at a low point – 21% in 2023 against 22% in 2022. Then, for an unknown reason, listeners spiked in 2024 with 27% of them tuning in. While the exact reasoning requires more investigation, Pew Research conducted its own research in 2023.
They found that older podcast listeners used podcasts more for current affairs. So, if podcasts are replacing other methods of catching up on the news, the future growth of podcasting may lie with its older fans.