Westwood One and Audience Insights Inc.s Podcast Download Spring 2019 ReportBackgroundIn May 2018, Audience Insights Inc. released a comprehensive study of 1500+ monthly Canadian podcast listeners titled, “The Canadian Podcast Listener 2018.” The study covered podcast listening origin timeline, podcast publishers, listener demographics, podcast discovery, listener behavior, and more.In America, podcasting has rapidly become a popular media for both consumers and advertisers. According to Edison Researchs annual Infinite Dial study, monthly podcast listening among Americans has grown +23% from 26% in 2018 to 32% in 2019. Westwood One has the fastest organically growing podcast network in America. As an insights leader on podcast listening behavior, trends, and sentiment, Westwood One partnered with Audience Insights Inc., to replicate “The Canadian Podcast Listener 2018” for the United States. The new collaborative study powered by Westwood One and Audience Insights Inc. featured American monthly podcast listeners and was created in conjunction with MARU/Matchbox, a nationally recognized leader in consumer research.This study was fielded online using a nationally representative U.S. sample of 1407 respondents who met the following criteria: Adults over the age of 18 All respondents listened to podcasts at least once a month Respondents were not employed in the advertising, public relations, marketing, market research, radio, television, digital, or podcasting industriesSurveys were conducted between March 5, 2019 and March 14, 2019.The Canadian Podcast Listener 2018 was conducted by Audience Insights Inc. in partnership with North American podcast consulting firm Ulster Media with support from TPX (The Podcast Exchange) 2Key findings More recent podcast listeners use a much broader and diverse group of platforms to access podcasts. Pioneer podcast listeners are far more likely to use Apple as their platform of choice. Monthly podcast listeners are noticing podcast promotion on AM/FM radio, especially the Podcast Newcomers. From Q1 2018 to Q1 2019, the number of podcasts advertised on AM/FM radio grew from 7 to 106. Among those who spend 5 or more hours a week listening to podcasts, “Power” podcast listeners, 67% say they follow their favorite hosts on social media. Android users are more likely to use laptops for podcast listening versus iPhone users. Among Android phone owners, 40% of podcast time spent listening takes place on mobile phones. Among Apple phone owners, a higher proportion (54%) of podcast time spent listening takes place on mobile phones. Many podcast listeners first started listening for content and interests they follow closely. 44% of podcast listeners say they first started listening because “I heard about a podcast on a specific topic or area of interest that I follow closely.” Ads during podcasts are least likely to be skipped versus other major media.3Study terminology and definitionsTerm DefinitionTotal (monthly podcast listeners) Listens to a podcast at least once a month.Weekly podcast listeners Listens to podcasts at least once a week.“Power” podcast listeners Listens to 5+ hours of podcasts in a typical week.Podcast Pioneers (4+ years ago) Started listening to podcasts 4 or more years ago.Podcast start: 2-3 years ago Started listening to podcasts 2-3 years ago.Podcast start: past 7-12 months Started listening to podcasts in the past 7 to 12 months.Podcast Newcomers (past 6 months) Started listening to podcasts in the past 6 months.Distribution platforms Destination where podcasts are available for consumers, ie. Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.Apple Podcasts Podcasts accessed on iTunes or Apple Podcasts.Google Podcasts Podcasts accessed on Google Play or Google Podcasts.Podcast origin timeline4Sample specificationsTotal % of totalTotal (monthly podcast listeners) 1407Weekly podcast listeners 1005 73%“Power” podcast listeners(5+ hrs/week) 489 35%Podcast Pioneers (started listening 4+ years ago) 313 22%Podcast start: 2-3 years ago 415 29%Podcast start: past 7-12 months 327 23%Podcast Newcomers (started listening in the past 6 months) 352 25%Podcast origin timelineFielded: March 5, 2019 to March 14, 2019 5Who is listening to podcasts monthly?6Most podcast listener segments skew Millennial and maleHow to read: 12% of Podcast Pioneers (those who started listening to podcasts 4 or more years ago) are Gen Z (A18-24). Source: Westwood One and Audience Insights Inc.s Podcast Download Spring 2019 Report, MARU/Matchbox National Study March 2019 *Data is weighted to represent Apple/Android mobile ownership among monthly podcast users.% of respondents Total (monthly podcast listeners)Weekly podcast listeners“Power” podcast listeners(5+ hrs/week)PodcastPioneers(4+ years ago)Podcast start: 2-3 years agoPodcast start: past 7-12 monthsPodcast Newcomers(past 6 months)Average age 39.5 36.2 36.1 42.7 40.5 38.8 36.2Gen Z (A18-24) 17% 16% 12% 12% 15% 23% 20%Millennials (A25-34) 27% 33% 40% 22% 24% 24% 38%Gen X (A35-49) 30% 31% 34% 32% 34% 28% 23%Boomers (A50-64) 19% 16% 10% 26% 19% 17% 14%Seniors (A65+) 7% 5% 3% 8% 7% 7% 4%Male 55% 61% 69% 65% 54% 48% 55%Female 45% 39% 31% 35% 46% 52% 45%Apple mobile owner* 58% 57% 56% 59% 60% 59% 53%Android mobile owner* 42% 42% 44% 40% 39% 40% 47%Podcast origin timeline7Q: “How much time would you say you spend listening to podcasts in a typical week?” of total monthly podcast listeners are “Power” listeners35%Total (monthly podcast listeners)“Power” podcast listeners(5+ hrs/week)Gen Z (A18-24) 17% 12%Millennials (A25-34) 27% 40%Gen X (A35-49) 30% 34%Boomers (A50-64) 19% 10%Seniors (A65+) 7% 3%Male 55% 69%Female 45% 31%Total (monthly podcast listeners)“Power” podcast listeners(5+ hrs/week)Podcast Pioneers(4+ years ago) 22% 25%Podcast start: 2-3 years ago 29% 26%Podcast start: past 7-12 months 23% 20%Podcast Newcomers(past 6 months) 25% 29%Total (monthly podcast listeners)“Power” podcast listeners(5+ hrs/week)$25K<$50K 21% 14%$50K<$75K 17% 14%$75K<$100K 21% 28%$100K+ 24% 33%“Power” podcast listeners are 25-49, male, affluent and newcomers to podcastingHow to read: 29% of “Power” podcast listeners are Podcast Newcomers.Source: Westwood One and Audience Insights Inc.s Podcast Download Spring 2019 Report, MARU/Matchbox National Study March 2019. Q: “How much time would you say you spend listening to podcasts in a typical week?”% who listen 5+ hours per week8“Power” podcast listeners (5+ hours per week) account for the bulk of weekly podcast listeningSource: Westwood One and Audience Insights Inc.s Podcast Download Spring 2019 Report, MARU/Matchbox National Study March 2019How to read: 81% of all weekly podcast listening comes from “Power” podcast listeners; who represent 35% of total monthly podcast listeners.9Users: % of total monthly listeners35%65%“Power” podcast listenersOther listeners81%19%“Power” podcast listenersOther listenersUsage: % of weekly listeningFrom Pioneers to Newcomers, users and usage are alignedSource: Westwood One and Audience Insights Inc.s Podcast Download Spring 2019 Report, MARU/Matchbox National Study March 2019% of respondentsHow to read: Of the total monthly listeners, 25% are Podcast Newcomers. 29% of all weekly podcast listening is generated by Podcast Newcomers.1022%29%23% 25%25% 25% 21%29%Podcast Pioneers(4+ years ago)Podcast start:2-3 years agoPodcast start:past 7-12 monthsPodcast Newcomers(past 6 months)% of total monthly listeners % of weekly podcast listening