With hit series like Crime Junkie and Morbid leading the charge, the True Crime genre has become one of podcasting’s biggest. The explosion of shows is being driven by demand, as Edison Research says the number of listeners to the genre has tripled during the past five years. It estimates 19.1 million listeners 18 and older listen to True Crime content each week, up from 6.7 million in 2019.
The increase has made True Crime the fourth most listened-to podcast genre, according to Edison, which says it has overtaken the Sports category in terms of total listeners. Comedy, which Edison says has enjoyed significant growth as well, and Society & Culture, remain the leaders overall, followed by News.
Edison Research partnered with Audiochuck to release the True Crime Consumer Report in September. It finds there are plenty of clues to suggest True Crime has more growth in its future. Edison says an estimated 230 million Americans, or 84% of the population 13 and older, consume True Crime content. Among them, 48 million consume True Crime content and podcasts but have yet to marry the two into listening to True Crime podcasts. That represents 17% of the population 13 and older that are primed for True Crime podcast content.
Among those that do listen to True Crime series, half said they like the suspense and thrill, while the other half likes to solve the mystery. Other top reasons include learning more about the psychology behind criminal events (49%) and forensic science (48%), while 37% think the shows can help them learn how to be safe.
The report, based on a survey of 3,148 online interviews conducted May 10-31, also shows 89% of U.S. weekly podcast listeners 13+ have binged True Crime podcasts.
Download the True Crime Consumer Report HERE.
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