The podcast listening recovery continues, according to the latest data from Podtrac. It shows the number of Americans who consumed a podcast last week increased 2% for a second consecutive week. The number of podcast downloads held steady too, which together suggest the disruption to media habits caused by the coronavirus stay-at-home orders are beginning to fade. Podtrac also reports that among the publishers for whom it tracks downloads, 2020 remains up double digits. The data shows year-to-date download growth since the first week of January is up 25% and audience growth is up 8% through the week ending May 3.
The data also points to an increase in the True Crime genre. Podtrac says shows in that category had a 6% increase in downloads last week, making it one of the best-performing segments. That’s a reversal from the early weeks of the COVID-19 lockdown when listeners moved away from dark subject matter. Also seeing a 6% bump in downloads last week was the Science category, with growth also reported for Comedy (+5%), Education (+3%), and TV & Film (+3%).
Podtrac also says weekend listening continues to grow. On Saturday, May 2, the peak hour was up 12%, and for Sunday, May 3, the peak hour was up 18%.
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