Podcasts have skyrocketed in popularity, doubling from 500,000 to over 1,000,000 shows available on Apple Podcasts alone in the last two years. With the ability to target both niche and wide audiences alike, podcasts have also become a favoured ground for advertisers to reach consumers. Whether you’re listening in the car, walking the dog, or tidying, chances are there’s a podcast for you. In celebration of International Podcast Day, here are a few compelling numbers that showcase podcast growth in Canada and beyond.
LANDSCAPE
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Nearly 11 million Canadian adults (37% of the 18+ population) have listened to a podcast in the past year. More than 13 million (45%) have listened at some point. (The Canadian Podcast Listener, 2019)
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The Canadian audience represents an affluent and educated population: 43% of monthly listeners have a university degree and 24% of monthly listener household income is at least $100k/year.
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49% of listening is done at home, while 22% is done while driving.
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80% listen to all or most of each episode (as of 2017).
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British Columbia has the highest percentage of monthly listeners out of Canadian provinces (35%), followed by Ontario (28%) and Alberta (25%)—a lack of French-speaking content leaves Quebec with the lowest provincial percentage (20%).
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39% of small and medium-sized business owners listen to podcasts.
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67% of audiences are people between 18 and 44 years old. Millennials are particularly keen, with podcasting taking up 10% of their content listened to.
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56% of listeners are male while 44% are female.
MONEY TALKS
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Ad revenue from podcasting is expected to surpass $1 billion by 2021 in the US alone.
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Brands that advertise products and services during business podcasts have a 14% lift in purchase intent. (Small Biz Genius, 2020)
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1 in 4 Canadian listeners said they found out about a new brand or product through a podcast advertisement.
WORLDWIDE
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South Korea leads the globe in monthly podcast users with 58% of the population listening to podcasts as of April 2020—strides ahead of Spain, which came second with 40%. (Podcast Insights, 2020)
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59% of American podcast consumers do chores while they listen to podcasts.
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Chile, Artentina, Peru, and Mexico are the fastest-growing countries for podcasting. Chile leads the pack with an 85% growth rate, followed by Argentina (55.28%), Peru (49.1%), and Mexico (47.84%)
WHERE IT’S GOING
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Apple Podcasts is the most used platform, but Spotify and Youtube are gaining in popularity.
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Apple Podcasts surpassed 1,000,000 podcast shows in April 2020, with over 30,000,000 total episodes.
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Currently, only 17% of podcasters record videos of themselves when podcasting, but doing so can lead to more content creation and help build a better following.
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43% of listeners reach out to their online community or social media for podcast recommendations.
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