In 2019, Ipsos launched the Ipsos Digital Audio Survey aiming to collect a bulk of information that could help the industry understand listening behaviors of all forms of digital audio, and podcasts in particular.
Results of the second edition show that 2020 was a year of growth for podcasts. Survey participants represented the 16–60 years old population of Italy.
Data collected in July 2020 confirm that podcasts attract younger people (52% under 35), students (19%), people with higher education (22% graduates) and high-level professional status (10%).
The smartphone is more and more central as a listening device (78% listen to podcasts through smartphones). While other devices (computer, tablet, consoles, etc) have stalled, smart speakers have increased their share of listeners (15%).
Podcasts are most frequently listened to at home (80%) and while multitasking (77%), but, compared to 2019, data show an increasing share of listeners who focus on podcasts without engaging in other activities.
The share of those who listen to podcasts for their whole length increased to 61%, becoming the largely predominant behavior among listeners.
“Podcasts seem to be in good health and users are getting, organically, more and more familiar with the behaviors that this format is able to trigger. The challenge, to keep growing, is to maintain the same capacity of attraction and clear positioning among new listeners, who may be less autonomous and proactive than the ‘core target,’” commented Nora Schmitz, head of Ipsos Audience Measurement, and Claudia D’Ippolito, senior researcher in Ipsos Media Development. Schmitz and D’Ippolito curated the study.
