TORONTO — More than 40% of podcast listeners surveyed for The Canadian Podcast Listener 2019 report said the time they spend with podcasts is entirely additive and has not replaced time spent with other media.
This should help broadcasters sleep a little better, the report’s authors said Monday in a blog post on the Canadian Podcast Listener website.
“Podcast listeners can start and stop their podcasts as needed. That makes them well-suited to fill in gaps in media consumption throughout the day. Podcasts find their way into listeners’ lives while they’re walking to the store, waiting for transit, working out, or doing a few quick chores in the yard. Podcasts do have an impact in the traditional media battlegrounds — at-home, in-car and at-work — but a lot of listening takes place in less competitive times,” the report’s authors wrote.
While 44% of survey respondents said podcast listening doesn’t replace other media consumption, that leaves 56% who say it does. Of those podcast listeners who said time spent with podcasts did affect their consumption of other media, 40% said audio media listening was affected. In addition, 25% said time spent consuming TV and video was replaced by podcast listening, while 23% said time spent online and on social networks was affected and 19% said print media consumption was impacted by podcast listening.
However, drilling down into podcasting’s impact on audio listening, the reports suggests there is some encouraging news for broadcasters.
“Only 26% of podcast listeners say that podcasts are carving into the time they spend with AM/FM. Nearly as many podcast listeners (22%) say podcasts are replacing time spent with non-radio music (mp3s, steaming, etc.), and 9% say that they are listening to fewer audio books now that they’re listening to podcasts,” the blog post states.
“Rather than being a threat, podcasts provide an opportunity for broadcasters to create more touchpoints with consumers throughout the day, and take advantage of listeners’ love for audio.”
The Canadian Podcast Listener 2019 report was co-published by Audience Insights Inc. and Ulster Media, with support from The Podcast Exchange (TPX). Research results are based on online surveys using a market representative sample of more than 4,500 Canadian adults from Maru Voice Canada.
A free summary report of this year’s study can be found here.
www.canadianpodcastlistener.ca
