Edison: 25% Of U.S. Latino Adults Listen To Podcasts.

In its just released Latino Podcast Listener Report, Edison Research finds that 25% of U.S. Latinos age 18+ have listened to a podcast in the last month and 45% of U.S. Latinos age 18+ have ever listened to a podcast. The study also shows increases in podcast listening for over half of U.S. Latinos age 18+ since the outbreak of COVID-19.

The Latino Podcast Listener Report, touted as the first and only comprehensive research on Latino podcast listeners in the United States, was conducted by Edison Research and commissioned by Adonde Media, Lantigua Williams & Co., Libsyn, NPR and Pandora.

Edison Research Manager of Research Gabriel Soto and Adonde Media Founder and CEO Martina Castro detailed findings during a webinar Tuesday (June 30) on U.S. Latino podcast awareness, listening habits, similarities and differences of those born in the States and those born elsewhere and the opportunity that exists for this growing population. 

The study found that 61% of U.S. Latinos (18+) have heard of podcasting, compared to 75% of the U.S. Total Population. Among the U.S. Latinos, 46% of Spanish-language dominant have heard of the term podcasting, while 68% of non-Spanish-language dominant respondents have heard of the on-demand medium. 

“We come across an interesting finding here,” Castro said. “There is a large 22% gap in awareness of the term podcasting between non-Spanish Latinos and the Spanish dominant group, of which less than half say they are familiar with the term.”

Over half of the U.S. population (52%) has “ever listened to a podcast,” compared to 45% of U.S. Latinos. That percentage is similar for Spanish-language dominant panelists (45%) and non-Spanish language participants (44%). More U.S. Latinos listen to podcasts that are mostly in English (36%), compared to 24% who listen to a podcast that was mostly in Spanish. 

Language dominance, in general, does not seem to correlate with the likelihood to be a monthly or weekly listener to podcasts, the study reveals. The Latino Podcast Report finds that 25% of all U.S. Latinos in non-Spanish-language dominant households have listened to a podcast in the last month compared to 26% of those in Spanish-language dominant households. Also, 20% of all U.S. Latinos in non-Spanish-language dominant households have listened to a podcast in the last week, which is the same number (20%) as those in Spanish-language dominant households.

Summarizing the findings from podcast awareness and listening, compared to 75% of the U.S. total population, 61% of U.S. Latinos are aware and/or have listened to a podcast. 

“In Spanish dominant households we see that weekly, monthly and general listenership is up to par with their counterparts that do not live in Spanish dominant households,” Castro said. “The remarkable difference here is an awareness of the term podcasting. Spanish-dominant Latinos are less likely to be aware of the term, but they’re just as likely to be listening.” 

The study also showed Spanish-language dominant households are much more likely to have begun listening to podcasts recently than those in non-Spanish-language dominant households. Seventy percent of Spanish-language dominant listeners have started listening in the last year, compared with 47% of non-Spanish-language dominant listeners. Recent stay-at-home orders have affected podcast listening among U.S. Latino podcast listeners as well, with 52% reporting that they are listening to podcasts more since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Of U.S. Latino monthly podcast listeners, 55% are male, 50% are 18-34, and 47% identify as the first generation in the United States. Additionally, among U.S. Latino monthly podcast listeners, 80% say they are listening to more podcasts than a year ago; 26% say the source they use most for podcast discovery is social media posts, followed by recommendations from friends and family at 22%; 73% listened to an English podcast in the last month and 49% listened to a Spanish podcast in the last month; 47% agree it is “somewhat important” or “very important” that the podcasts they listen to include stories about and perspectives from their countries of origin. 

The study used Edison Research’s Share Of Ear for U.S. total population numbers against a national survey of Hispanic/Latino adults (18+), which consisted of a panel of 2,500 online interviews conducted between May 5-27, 2020. The survey was offered in English and Spanish, with 21% of survey respondents taking the survey in Spanish. 

View the full The Latino Podcast Listener Report HERE.