Podcast Landscape Shows Listening Holds Strong As Engagement Grows.

Podcasting has reached a new stage of maturity in the U.S., according to new research that finds consumption of audio and video episodes has remained essentially unchanged for the past three years. The latest Podcast Landscape 2025 report from Sounds Profitable and Signal Hill Insights shows monthly podcast consumption has inched up to 55%, a two-point rise from a year ago, while weekly consumption grew to 38%, a one-point increase.

Tom Webster, partner at Sounds Profitable, said the stability of consumption reflects both progress and challenges. “It did go back up this year, but broadly, if you step back, it’s flat,” he said. In a presentation of the findings, he said that stability reflects both progress and challenges for the industry. “I don’t want to say it’s plateaued, because that sounds permanent, but I will say that it is certainly slow and it’s probably going to take some kind of external marketing to really drive that,” Webster said.

While overall reach growth has slowed, engagement is rising. Weekly listeners now spend an average of 6.3 hours with podcasts, up from six hours a year ago. More than one in five weekly listeners now consume over 10 hours of podcasts. Webster credited the medium’s growing video presence for the gains, bringing the average up to 6.3 hours — or an extra 20 minutes.

Podcast consumers aren’t endlessly sampling across the dial. The report shows that the typical listener regularly follows just 3.4 different titles, nearly identical to 3.5 last year. Webster said the number has “stabilized” during the past few years, reflecting a maturing medium where audiences settle into favorites. He also noted that while the space continues to add new listeners, loyalty to a small number of shows means it has become harder for newcomers to break through.

Demographic Gaps and Multicultural Growth

Podcasting’s audience profile remains consistent year to year, but gaps remain. Monthly listeners skew younger: 65% are under age 55 versus 28% of listeners 55+. Among those who have never listened to a podcast, 61% are 55+.

“There’s a clear growth opportunity, 55 plus, especially with women,” Webster stressed. “And I don’t believe necessarily that’s a content issue. I do think that is a marketing issue. I think that’s getting the benefits and features of podcasting in front of more people in those demographics.” Growth that has occurred over the past year has largely come from diverse audiences, with higher consumption among Asian and Black Americans.

The latest Podcast Landscape is based on a June online survey of 5,035 Americans aged 18+.

Split Between Watch And Listen

YouTube has cemented itself as one of podcasting’s distribution platforms. The study finds 40% of monthly listeners now identify it as their most-used service vs. 18% for Spotify and 11% for Apple Podcasts. All other apps are in single digits.

“YouTube is a very good podcast app, and I think that’s increasingly how many people want to find and consume their podcast,” Webster explained.

The report shows YouTube’s reach extends across devices. Among podcast consumers who use a smart TV, 76% say YouTube is the service they use most often. For many older listeners, smart TVs are becoming their media hub for both audio and video content. “Consumers are just using their smart TV as the operating system for their media, whether it’s audio or video,” Webster said.

Crucially, YouTube is not purely a video play. New data shows that nearly half of YouTube podcast users report listening more than watching. Webster said that split underscores the flexibility consumers expect.

“Increasingly, more podcast consumers have an expectation that their favorite shows will be available in audio and video,” Webster said. “This is less about everybody has to do video, and more about the flexibility and offering the choice.”

The study also uncovered an unexpected finding about Spotify. While the platform is still primarily audio-first, a significant minority of users say they watch podcasts there. Three in 10 Spotify podcast consumers say more than half the episodes they consume on Spotify are in video format. But Webster thinks much of that is tied to viewership of The Joe Rogan Experience. “But this shows that people are watching content on Spotify,” he added.

Why People Listen And What They Don’t Want

The report shows top benefits of podcasting remain consistent: discussions on topics of interest, companionship during travel, exercise, or chores, and access to news and analysis. Political talk in particular rose into the second-most consumed genre this year, reflecting a more engaged news-oriented audience.

Yet one feature consistently ranks at the bottom — celebrity. “Among the many benefits of podcasting, and this has been true for the last three years, hearing from celebrities ranks the lowest,” Webster said. He cautioned against publishers from relying on name recognition alone when they are looking for a hit show. “Merely putting a celebrity on a podcast not only is not a guarantee of success, it’s among the lowest ranking things that people are actually perceiving as a benefit of podcasting,” he warned.

Download the full Podcast Landscape 2025 report HERE.