Edison Research shines light on podcast binge listening

Edison Research has released illuminating statistics from the United States about binge listening, which the company describes as listening to multiple podcast episodes within a single sitting.

According to a recent survey, as of Q3 2023, 77% of U.S. weekly podcast listeners 13+ say they have ever binge listened to a podcast. In developing the survey, Edison hypothesized that those who consume certain genres might be more inclined to binge listen to a podcast. Using Edison Podcast Metrics, which captures weekly podcast listening across all networks, shows and platforms, the company measured the percentage of respondents who recorded listening to a podcast from a specific genre over a week. Edison used the Apple Podcasts genre descriptions.

Podcast listeners who consumed a Fiction or a True Crime podcast in the survey week — genres that encourage consumers to remain listening as a story unfolds across multiple episodes — were the most likely to have ever binge listened to podcasts.

On the other end of the spectrum, podcast listeners who consumed a News or Technology podcast in the survey week were the least likely to have ever binge listened. Having said that, the survey shows that the two genres still boasted sizeable percentages — 73% and 72%, respectively — who have ever binge-listened to a podcast.

These figures demonstrate how engaged weekly podcast listeners are and how captivating podcast content can be.