Nielsen, building on several of its recent reports about consumption of media by diverse audience groups, has broken out the kinds of podcasts that resonate most with those listeners.
Average listening time for Asian Americans, Blacks, Hispanics, people with disabilities, and LGBTQ+ is about three hours a week, the company noted in a new set of insights today. Music, it said, is the most popular type of podcast for Blacks, Hispanics and people with disabilities, while LGBTQ+ listeners gravitate to fiction titles and Asian Americans tend to seek out shows about technology. For all podcast listeners, comedy is the top overall category. (See a chart with complete rankings below.)
In its newest findings, Nielsen nodded to reports it has issued in recent months. For example, it reiterated that listening has doubled among Hispanics aged 25 to 39 in the past three years and Black listeners recall 73% of the brands advertised during podcasts. The number of Asian American listening has quintupled over the past decade.
Advertising is a key element in the increasing reach of podcasts. While Spotify and others have grown their subscription offerings, most listeners are willing to listen to ads. Accordingly, overall ad spending on podcasts is on the upswing. The Interactive Advertising Bureau recently estimated total podcast spending will reach $2 billion by 2023, up from $842 million in 2020. Covid suppressed listening last year during extensive shutdowns and widespread disruptions of commuting, but it has rebounded even as new daily media habits form in a society altered by the pandemic.
On the diversity front, the spotlight on podcasts fits into a broader look at efforts by the media business to more accurately reflect its audience. Earlier this month, Nielsen’s “Seen on Screen” report found that representation has improved markedly on television, but still does not match the composition of the viewership at home.
Here is Nielsen’s full rundown of podcast listening trends:
