Data Shows Podcasts Are Winning The Battle For Attention.

The growth of podcasting is well-documented. The latest Edison Share of Ear data shows that 23% of adults listen on a daily basis, up from just 6% in a decade earlier. But the hours of the day aren’t infinite, and in a new pitch to advertisers Audacy is making the case for podcasting by highlighting where that listening is siphoning off hours of time from other media.

MRI Simmons day shows nearly four in ten (39%) weekly podcast listeners say their podcast time is replacing time spent scrolling on social media. And 36% say they are replacing time watching television with podcast listening. MRI Simmons says it is not just other formats that are losing to podcasting. It reports that more than a third (34%) of weekly podcast listeners say time on podcasts is replacing time spent listening to streaming music.

“Data shows that podcast growth isn’t purely additive. It’s replacing other behaviors,” says Deepika P Das, Senior Manager or Research & Insights at Audacy.

Her analysis connects that behavior with the deep engagement that podcasts have among listeners. Das notes Americans spend more time with podcasts than they do on the social media platforms. Emarketer data shows among adults age 18 and older, 103 minutes a day is typically spent with podcasts. That is more than TikTok (77 minutes), Facebook (69 minutes), and Instagram (65 minutes).

“Listeners spend more time with podcasts than streaming music as well,” Das writes in a blog post. She bases that on Edison data, which shows podcast listening surpassed streaming music in 2023 and now commands an 11-point share advantage in daily digital ad-supported audio listening.

“Not only are more and more listeners opting for podcasts over streaming music, it’s also becoming increasingly difficult to reach streaming music listeners with advertising,” Das says. “Edison data indicates that music listeners have been migrating to ad-free subscriptions, shrinking the pool of reachable, ad-supported audiences.”

The shift in attention is one reason advertisers are increasingly turning to podcasting, according to Sean Wright, Chief Insights and Analytics Officer at Guideline. Their data shows podcasting has become the dominant growth driver within digital audio. Even though podcasts represent roughly a third of digital audio ad spending, they generated 77% of the category’s growth last year.

“It’s virtually all of the growth that came to digital audio in 2025,” Wright said in a recent interview. He sees large national advertisers increasingly embracing the format after years of adoption by smaller brands. “Big brands are now catching on to what the small and mid-sized brands had known for the better part of a decade — that this works,” Wright said. “You could do it at scale, and you could do it pretty cheaply.”

Das says the migration of listening from other media underscores the pitch that podcasting offers advertisers something increasingly difficult to find elsewhere — sustained attention. And as audiences continue shifting time away from social feeds, television and even streaming music, the podcast industry is making the case that advertisers should follow those listeners.

“When consumers choose podcasts over scrolling or background streaming, they’re opting into something different: longer-form content, trusted hosts, and deeper engagement,” Das says. “That influence drives action.”

To prove the point, an Audacy survey conducted last year showed 76% of podcast listeners say they have purchased a brand after hearing a podcast host-read advertisement.

“For marketers, podcasting is more than a growth story. It’s a brand-building success reality,” Das says. “At a time when media fragmentation makes advertising effectiveness a challenge, podcasts offer a powerful way to connect with highly engaged consumers. For brands focused on sustained growth, the key consideration is no longer if they should utilize this medium, but rather how swiftly they establish a valuable presence within it.”