Podcast Reach Among UK Adults Hits All Time High

Podcasts have firmly established themselves as a leading media platform in the UK, captivating an increasingly large audience as highlighted in The UK Podcast Consumer 2024 report by Edison Research.

Earlier today, Gabriel Soto, Senior Director of Research at Edison Research, presented key findings during a webinar, offering benchmark data on weekly and monthly podcast consumption in the UK. As podcasts continue to attract diverse and dedicated listeners, their role in media and marketing strategies is becoming more significant.

Key points from the report:

• More UK adults than ever are listening to podcasts: Over two-thirds of the United Kingdom age 18+ have ever listened to a podcast; 42% are monthly podcast listeners and 30% are weekly listeners. All data points are record highs.
• Weekly UK podcast listeners 15+ spend an average of 5 hours and 27 minutes listening to podcasts in a typical week.
• Young UK adults are loyal consumers of podcasts: The majority of 18–34-year- olds are monthly podcast listeners and 41% are weekly listeners; higher than the average UK adult.
• Podcasts are an excellent way to reach the sought-after 35-54-year-old UK segment, many who are in their prime spending years: About half are monthly podcast listeners; 34% are weekly podcast listeners.
• The 55+ UK population are increasingly listening to podcasts: 28% of those age 55+ listen monthly, up from 20% in 2023; 18% of those age 55+ listen weekly.
• Forty-eight percent of Black UK adults listen to podcasts each month, higher than the 42% among the overall UK population; 39% of UK Asian adults listen to podcasts each month.
• Newcomers to weekly podcast listening are more likely to be Gen Z: 38% of new weekly podcast listeners (those who began listening in the last year) are Gen Z; 14% of weekly podcast listeners who started listening more than a year ago are Gen Z.
• Reach among UK women monthly podcast listeners is up: 39% of UK women are monthly podcast listeners, up from 31% in 2023; 26% are weekly listeners. The top three podcasts reaching the most UK weekly women podcast listeners are The Diary of a CEO, Saving Grace, and Sh**ged Married and Annoyed.
• The Top 10 podcasts in the UK combine to reach 31% of all weekly podcast listeners age 15+. The Top 25 podcasts reach 44% of weekly podcast listeners, which means with only the 25 biggest shows, nearly half of all weekly podcast listeners are accessible.

Soto said, “With this report, Edison Research seeks to arm UK-based creators with the ammunition they need to secure support for their content.”

About the study

The UK Podcast Consumer 2024 includes data from Edison Podcast Metrics UK™ . Edison Podcast Metrics UK is the only all-inclusive measurement of weekly reach of podcasts in the UK. Used by the leading podcast networks, agencies, and consultancies in the U.S. since 2019, Edison Podcast Metrics launched in the UK in the third quarter of 2023. Edison Research interviews 8,000 podcast listeners ages 15 and older each year about the shows they listen to. In addition to calculating the weekly reach of podcasts, the report tracks demographics, content, preferences, and listening behaviors. For more information about the Edison Podcast Metrics UK contact epm@edisonresearch.com

Additional sources include the UK National Podcast Survey, Age 15+, conducted May 2024 and UK National Podcast Survey, Age 18+, conducted May 2023; The Infinite Dial 2021 UK conducted in Fall 2021 by Edison Research and sponsored by Bauer Media Group UK and Spotify, Age 16+.

About Edison Research

Edison Research conducts survey research and provides strategic information to a broad array of clients worldwide, having conducted research in 66 countries. Edison Research is the leading podcast research company in the world, producing the only survey-based data on podcast listening in the U.S., Edison Podcast Metrics, and has conducted research for many companies in the space. Edison Research’s The Infinite Dial® series has been the survey of record for digital audio, social media, podcasting, smart speakers, and other media-related technologies since 1998. The company’s Share of Ear® survey is the only single-source measure of all audio in the U.S. Since 2004, Edison Research has been the sole provider of election data, race projections and analysis to the National Election Pool (ABC News, CBS News, CNN, NBC News) for every presidential primary and general election.