YouTube Expands Its Lead As The #1 Platform For Podcasts

YouTube has hit a new high as America’s primary podcast destination.

In 2021, YouTube was the third most accessed destination for podcasts. In 2022, it tied Spotify as the platform used most among weekly podcast listeners. Now across two years’ worth of studies in 2023 and 2024, YouTube has pulled away from the pack and leads as the most used podcast audience platform in the U.S., hitting a new high of 34%.

For the thirteenth edition of the Podcast Download series, Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights retained MARU/Matchbox to conduct an in-depth study of 603 weekly podcast consumers from October 3-7, 2024. Two studies are conducted annually. The Fall 2024 Report highlights trends from prior studies and examines topics such as platform preference, content trends, perceptions of brand safety and content appropriateness, and more.

Liz Mayer, Insights Manager of the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group®, and Paul Riismandel, President of Signal Hill Insights, conducted an extensive analysis of the Podcast Download consumer study.

Key takeaways:

• Hitting an all-time high, YouTube is the most utilized podcast listening platform in the U.S.: 34% say it is the platform they use the most, followed by Spotify (17%) and Apple (11%)YouTube is used most among Podcast Newcomers, Podcast Pioneers, and heavy podcast consumers
• As the world’s entertainment search engine, YouTube is the dominant podcast discovery platform where audiences are more likely to find podcasts
• Those who discover a podcast on YouTube say they stick with the platform for video, comments, community, entertainment, recommendations, and platform features
• However, the YouTube podcast audience is not exclusively tied to the platform
• Watchable podcasts are growing in popularity as 1 in 3 weekly podcast consumers now say they prefer actively watching podcasts with videos
• Podcast Newcomers are more likely to prefer actively watching podcast videos
• Preference for watchable video is a key driver in platform used most: YouTube is a runaway #1 among podcast consumers who prefer podcasts via video
• YouTube dominates association as the platform where podcasts can be watched and heard
• Younger podcast consumers are more likely to consume a podcast because of the thumbnail image on YouTube versus older podcast consumers
• Text and the podcast title on the thumbnail are the biggest reasons podcast consumers will pick a podcast on YouTube

Those who only watch podcasts are 13% of the weekly podcast audience

Given that video is becoming a growing podcast tuning option, the definition of podcast consumption was expanded in the April 2022 Podcast Download study. Since then, those who only watch podcasts have been accepted into the Podcast Download survey of the weekly podcast audience.

The inclusion of those who only watch podcasts expanded the podcast audience. Over five studies in the last two years, an average of 10% of the weekly podcast audience indicate they only consume podcasts via “watching.”

YouTube is the most utilized podcast platform in the U.S., hitting an all-time high: 34% say it is the platform they use the most, followed by Spotify (17%) and Apple (11%)

Two-thirds of weekly podcast listeners consider the “big three” as their most preferred podcast platform. YouTube’s lead over Spotify for “use most” is now 2X and 3X Apple.

Much has changed over the last six years. In July 2019, Apple was the dominant podcast audience platform. At the time, 29% said they used Apple most versus Spotify (16%) and YouTube (15%).

Two years later in October 2021 it was a three-horse race between Apple, YouTube, and Spotify as an equal proportion said they used each platform the most.

Since then, YouTube has steadily grown at the expense of Apple. Spotify has eroded slightly to the high teens and low 20% range for “use most.” Apple’s October 2024 “use most” response (11%) is an all-time low.