Cumulus Media, in partnership with Signal Hill Insights, have released Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights’ Podcast Download – Fall 2025 Report, a comprehensive evaluation of the latest podcast audience trends. This fifteenth edition of the study examining the habits of weekly podcast consumers is part of Cumulus Media’s commitment to share insights and research findings with the podcast community.
A key finding uncovered in the Podcast Download Report is that there are differences in consumption patterns among those who prefer listening or watching podcasts.
“In our continued focus on YouTube and watchable podcasts, this edition of the Podcast Download reveals YouTube at an all-time high for consumption,” said Elizabeth Mayer, Senior Insights Manager of the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group®.
“Regardless of tenure or heavy usage, YouTube remains in the top spot, which speaks to podcast consumers seeking out watchable podcasts. 12% of weekly podcast consumers use Smart TVs where video components are intuitive and easy to access to listen to podcasts.”
The Fall 2025 edition reveals valuable insights for content creators and advertisers. Some highlights from the report:
- Those who prefer video components are more likely to listen to ‘chatcast’ podcasts: While the time spent between narrative (podcasts focused on telling a story in a documentary style) and ‘chatcast’ (podcasts focused on interviews or discussion) podcasts is fairly 50/50, those who prefer audio only spend more time with narrative podcasts.
- Those who prefer audio only podcasts are listening more outside the home and on mobile devices: Those who prefer audio only listen more in the car/truck and on mobile devices such as smart phones.
- Watchable podcasts have grown in popularity: Driven by Podcast Newcomers, more consumers prefer podcasts with video they can actively watch or minimize to listen in the background vs. podcasts that are just audio.
- Audio remains the primary mode of consumption, despite the growing option of video: Podcast consumers have the option to either watch or listen and the vast majority (92%) continue to choose to listen. A small minority (8%) say they only watch podcasts.
- With the rise of podcast watching, 12% of weekly podcast consumers listen via a smart TV: This is significantly greater than those who consume via a smart speaker (2%).