Click here to download CUMULUS MEDIA and Signal Hill Insights’ Podcast Download – Fall 2021 Report.

Click here to view a 17-minute video of the key findings.

For the seventh edition of our Podcast Download series, CUMULUS MEDIA | Westwood One and Signal Hill Insights retained MARU/Matchbox to conduct an in-depth study of 600 weekly podcast listeners in October 2021. The Fall 2021 report highlights trends from prior studies as well as examining new topics such as the emerging array of social audio platforms.

A special focus was placed on how consumers access podcasts, what they want from a listening app, and attitudes and usage of the “big three” podcast tuning oligarchy: Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify. Today’s analysis of the Podcast Download findings is a deep dive on the podcast platform wars along with a look at how brands and agencies feel about podcast advertising.

Advertiser Perceptions: Podcast advertising consideration, intention, and usage are all at all-time highs

In advance of the first IAB Podcast Upfront in 2015, CUMULUS MEDIA | Westwood One commissioned Advertiser Perceptions to examine brand and agency sentiment on podcast advertising. Each year since, the CUMULUS MEDIA | Westwood One Audio Active Group has reprised the study to track buy-side podcast advertising consideration and intention.

In November 2021, Advertiser Perceptions surveyed 300 media agencies and marketers:

• 71% say they have discussed the potential of advertising in podcasts.
• An all-time high of 53% are likely to consider advertising in the next six months, up from 46% last year and 18% in 2015.
• Another all-time high of 44% indicate they are likely to actually advertise in podcasts in the next six months, up from 37% last year and 10% in 2015.
• 45% report they are currently advertising in podcasts, a 3X increase from 2015 and a 9-point growth over 2020.

Frequently used platforms: Spotify moves into the lead, closely followed by YouTube and Apple Podcasts

In the MARU study, weekly podcast listeners were provided a list of podcast listening platforms and asked how often they listened to each.

Since 2019, frequent Spotify use jumped 30% to 36%. With podcasts showcased right in their app, Spotify has helped lure more music streamers into podcasting.

Versus two years ago, YouTube is stable (33% to 34%) while Apple Podcasts dropped (38% to 27%). Frequent use of Google’s apps (Google Play/Google Podcasts) dropped from 19% in 2019 to 16% in 2021.

Here is the complete October 2021 ranking of all podcast listening “frequently used” platforms:

Platform profiles: Spotify users are younger than users of Apple Podcasts and more likely to have started listening in the last year, helping to change the shape and nature of the podcasting audience

Spotify has by far the youngest profile as 70% of their frequent users are 18-34. YouTube skews male as 30% of their users began listening in the last year.

Most used platform: Spotify jumps to the top spot (24%) closely followed by Apple Podcasts (20%) and YouTube (19%)

Weekly podcast listeners were asked to indicate which place they use the most to access podcasts. Since 2019, Spotify is up the most (15% to 24%), YouTube grew 14% to 19%, and Apple Podcasts dropped 26% to 20%.

Several recent studies validate these findings. Edison Research’s Q2 2021 Podcast Consumer Tracker showed very similar rankings.

The just-released Canadian Podcast Listener 2021 study from Signal Hill Insights and TPX (The Podcast Exchange) reveals Spotify tops the “listen most” ranking (27%) among weekly podcast listeners, followed by YouTube (22%) and Apple Podcasts (21%).

Spotify and YouTube lead with Podcast Newcomers for platform use

When asked which platform they access podcasts on frequently, Spotify and YouTube lead among Podcast Newcomers, those who have started listening to podcasts in the past year, with 36%.

When asked which platform they use the most to access podcasts, Spotify (24%) and YouTube (21%) again lead among the Podcast Newcomer segment. Among this important group, Spotify and YouTube are responsible for bringing in new podcast listeners.

When elephants fight, ants die: The combined share of Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify grows to 63%

Those who say they listen most to the big three increased from 55% in 2019 to 63% in October 2021.

Spotify and YouTube gain among iPhone owners and solidify their lead with Android users

Since 2019, Apple mobile phone owners who indicate they use the Apple Podcasts app the most have dropped from 45% to 33%. Versus two years ago, Apple mobile phone owners are more likely to most use Spotify (13% to 23%) and YouTube (11% to 17%).

Platform users want their favorite podcasts, ease of use, a wide variety, and useful search

Consumers evaluated 14 attributes of podcast access platforms and indicated which they considered “very important.” “Has my favorite podcasts” and “ease of use” are the top two most important platform features.

Attribute association indicates an open marketing opportunity for platforms: “Don’t know” wins the top brand linkage for over half of the platform features

Listeners were asked to indicate the first podcast platform that came to mind for each of 14 attributes. On the table below, the attributes are ranked in order of importance. Spotify wins six of the brand associations while YouTube wins two. “Don’t know” was the leading brand attribute association for seven of the attributes, indicating there is still brand imagery to be secured by a platform.

When brand association to the 14 attributes is averaged, Spotify’s average attribute linkage is 21% followed by Apple Podcasts (19%) and “don’t know” (19%). YouTube generates an average brand attribute association of 17%.

Below are brand associations for the top ten attributes. Spotify’s top associations include “has my favorite podcasts,” “wide variety,” and “easy to use.” YouTube’s top attribute linkage is for “ease of use” and “search.” Apple Podcasts’ leading images are for “wide variety,” “has my favorite podcasts,” and “auto downloads.”

Key takeaways:

• Advertiser Perceptions: Podcast advertising consideration, intention, and usage are all at all-time highs
• Frequently used platforms: Spotify moves into the lead, closely followed by YouTube and Apple Podcasts
• Most used platform: Spotify jumps to the top spot (24%) closely followed by Apple Podcasts (20%) and YouTube (19%)
• Spotify and YouTube lead with Podcast Newcomers for platform use
• When elephants fight, ants die: The combined share of Apple Podcasts, YouTube, and Spotify grows to 63%
• Spotify and YouTube gain among iPhone owners and solidify their lead with Android users
• Platform profiles: Spotify users are younger than users of Apple Podcasts and more likely to have started listening in the last year, helping to change the shape and nature of the podcasting audience
• Platform users want their favorite podcasts, ease of use, a wide variety, and useful search
• Attribute associations indicate an open marketing opportunity for podcast platforms: “Don’t know” wins the top brand linkage for over half of the platform features

Click here to download CUMULUS MEDIA and Signal Hill Insights’ Podcast Download – Fall 2021 Report.

Click here to view a 17-minute video of the key findings.

Brittany Faison is the Insights Manager of the CUMULUS MEDIA | Westwood One Audio Active Group.

Jeff Vidler is the President and Founder of Signal Hill Insights.

Contact the Insights team at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.