Podcast Audience Bigger Than It Looks: Co-Listening Surges As Podcasts Move To The Living Room.

While podcast metrics have long focused on individual downloads and listens, new research from Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights reveals that these figures significantly underestimate the true size of the audience. A major factor behind this hidden reach? Co-listening.

According to the Podcast Download — Spring 2025 report, a sizeable share of podcast consumers regularly listens to shows with others — including family, partners and friends — rather than alone. This shared behavior means each download often represents more than one set of ears, expanding total audience exposure far beyond what traditional metrics show.

“Because of co-listening, we find that downloads and listens underestimate the actual audience. It’s not one download to one person,” Liz Mayer, Senior Insights Manager at Cumulus Media/Westwood One, said during a recent webinar.

The report shows that 16% of podcast listening among households with children happens with others present, and nearly one-third (29%) of parents have listened to podcasts with their kids at some point. Meanwhile, 30% of all weekly podcast listeners have tuned in with friends, and 29% have listened with family members.

The growth of video podcasts and smart TV consumption is further amplifying this trend. One-third (32%) of weekly podcast consumers now use smart TVs to access podcasts, making TVs the third most-used device, just behind smartphones. This shift from personal devices to larger, shared screens naturally encourages group consumption.

“Smart TVs are the type of device you’re actually more likely to use with other people in the same room consuming the same content, much more so than obviously a phone or a laptop,” said Paul Riismandel, President of Signal Hill Insights. He emphasized that the visual nature of video podcasts — combined with larger screens and living-room settings — transforms podcasts from a solitary habit into a shared entertainment experience.

A key driver behind this transformation is the rise of podcast newcomers, or the listeners who have started listening within the past year. This group is more diverse and skews younger and more female than long-time podcast listeners. According to the report, newcomers are particularly drawn to watchable podcasts and video formats, which often lend themselves to shared viewing on smart TVs.

In fact, newcomers are helping fuel YouTube’s rise as the top podcast platform, with 40% of them using YouTube the most to access podcasts — a higher share than among long-time podcast “pioneers.” Many newcomers also prefer having video in the background or actively watching while listening, further supporting co-listening and co-viewing dynamics.

“Once you’re in, you’re in,” Mayer said. Newcomers, despite being new to podcasts, consume nearly as many episodes per week as veterans and are more open to discovering new content through shared experiences and social platforms.

The listening shifts challenge the longstanding assumption that one download equals one listener. Instead, each episode may be reaching multiple people at once, driving higher brand recall, stronger emotional connections, and a wider cultural footprint.

“Co-listening means you’re actually capturing more ears — and now more eyes — with each one of those impressions,” Riismandel said. That could open podcasting to new advertising opportunities, as brands may see podcasts in a better light as they look to scale up the reach of a campaign. Rather than pulling off a share of the budget for radio or other digital media to reach more ears and eyes, marketers could be receptive to keeping more of the money for their podcast campaigns. The insights also open opportunities to design content and campaigns that resonate not only with individuals but also groups, reflecting how today’s audiences really consume podcasts — together.

“Co-listening helps us better understand the true scale of podcast audiences,” Mayer said. “It’s a reminder that the medium isn’t just personal — it can also be a shared, social experience.”