Half of US podcast listeners are light listeners

Rob Clapp

An overview of podcast audiences in the United States.

Most podcast listeners in the United States are light listeners and only listen one to three times a month, according to research from Nielsen.

Overall, one-half (49%) of the podcast audience is a light listener, an increase from 39% in 2018. This is as the share of heavy listeners, those consuming podcasts at least 10 times a month, has fallen below one-third (29%).

The pandemic paused the growth of heavy podcast listeners. However, Nielsen adds that there is evidence of a recent increase in this audience segment, so heavy podcast listening may be starting to recover post-pandemic.

The...

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