Podcast consumption continues to explode, with rising quality of shows, hosts, platforms, investment and ways to listen. Aside from a slight dip in 2013, the number of podcast listeners in the US (the biggest market for podcasts and global trendsetter) has been on the rise over the past 15 years and shows no signs of slowing down. eMarketer predicts that podcasting will be a $1 billion industry very soon. Here are the latest insights, numbers, predictions and drivers that can inform your media investment strategy in 2022 and beyond. You can view some still-relevant stats from earlier in the year including content and frequency here.
Note: We chose to include US stats as this market tends to be the leader and therefore indicative of where the global trends will follow.
Growth
33% of internet users in Australia listen to podcasts at least once a month. Comparatively, 8.7% listen in China and 40% in the US.
The largest regions for growth are Argentina, Brazil and Mexico (17.6% growth in 2021)
China also had large adoption growth this year, with 25.1% monthly podcast listener growth in 2021.
eMarketer predicts 125m US podcast listeners in 2022. They estimate 131m in 2023 and 136m in 2024.
Steaming services
Australians spend an average of 40mins a day listening to podcasts (We Are Social Digital Report 21)
The digital music streaming sector is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 17.8% from 2020 to 2027. (Grand View Research)
Spotify is estimated to reach 28.2 million listeners per month while Apple Music is predicted to have 28 million monthly listeners. (Statisia)
Spotify has 172m global subscribers, 381m active users and 3.2+ podcast titles (Spotify Newsroom Sept 2021)
Apple Podcasts do not publish their subscriber numbers. They revealed that they had 60m paying subscribers in June 2019.
Most Popular
Here are Australia's most downloaded podcasts for 2021, displaying the popularity of true crime, comedy and news.
Casefile True Crime (Audioboom)
Hamish and Andy (SCA)
Stuff you Should Know (ARN)
Kyle and Jackie O Show (ARN)
Life Uncut (ARN)
The Update (Nova)
7am (Swartz Media)
SEN Breakfast (SEN)
Triple M Footy Rocks (SCA)
She’s on the Money (ARN)
Advertising
Podcast advertising spending is continuing to grow, with spending in the US expected to eclipse $1 billion this year and $2 billion by 2023. (eMarketer)
In the next two years, podcast ad spend is expected to reach $2.17 billion, a result of year-over-year growth of 24.5%. (eMarketer)
11% of podcast listeners surveyed in a study by eMarketer in October 21 said that they found podcast ads “very effective.” 24% said “somewhat effective”, 24% said “not too effective”, 16% said “not effective at all” and 25% had no opinion. This means that 35% found podcast ads effective. (eMarketer)
Advertisers
BetterHelp (an online counselling service) is the biggest global advertiser on podcasts currently.
The top 5 also features ZipRecruiter (job search), Geico (insurance), Hello Fresh (grocery/meal plan delivery) and NBC Universal (TV and news). (eMarketer)
Smart Speakers
75.6million people own smart speakers in the US. This number is set to rise to 78.9m in 2022 and 81.2m in 2023. (eMarketer)
Market revenue from smart speakers was 19.6billion USD in 2021 and is set to grow to 24.7b next year. (Statista)
25.7% of internet users own a smart speaker currently. (eMarketer)
Leading purchase drivers for smart speakers are sound quality (50%), price, battery life, and ease of use. (2021 Qualcomm "The State of Play Report 2021.)
2021 was the best ever year for podcasts in terms of quality, choice and effective ad campaigns. 2022 will take it to the next level. Get ahead of the curve and contact us to find out how you can get your brand involved.