Click here to download a PDF of the full report.

Click here to sign up to attend the Podcast Download webinar this Thursday.

For the fifteenth edition of the Podcast Download series, Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights retained Quantilope to conduct an in-depth study of 603 weekly podcast consumers October 8th-21th 2025. Since 2017, two studies have been conducted annually. The Fall 2025 report highlights trends from prior studies and examines topics such as platform preference, content trends, advertiser usage of podcast advertising, and more.

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

Key takeaways:

• Audio remains the primary mode of consumption, despite the growing video option: Podcast consumers have the option to either watch or listen and the vast majority (92%) continue to choose to listen. A small minority (8%) say they only watch podcasts
• YouTube is not a walled garden of podcasts: 70% of weekly podcast consumers on YouTube say they would switch platforms from YouTube if a podcast were to become available only on another platform. 52% of YouTube podcast consumers say they listened to the same podcasts on another platform.
• YouTube is the leading podcast platform for the third year, but no single platform dominates: While consumers perceive YouTube is their most used platform, actual time spent reveals Spotify and YouTube are closely matched. No single platform captures the majority of “most used.”
• Watchable podcasts have grown in popularity: Driven by Podcast Newcomers, more consumers prefer podcasts with video they can actively watch or minimize to listen in the background vs. podcasts that are just audio.
• Podcast discovery: YouTube is the place to be found: YouTube acts as an entertainment search engine. 45% of weekly podcast consumers who listened to a new podcast in the past 6 months started listening to their latest podcast on YouTube.
• With the rise of podcast watching, smart TVs are more used more than smart speakers.

Among weekly podcast listeners, 92% have listened; A small minority (8%) say they only “watch” podcasts

17% say they have only listened in the last week. The majority (76%) say they watch and listen.

Audio use of podcasts remains steady. Over eight studies since April 2022, the average proportion who say they “listen” to podcasts has held steady at 91% with the “watch only” segment averaging 9%.

Tale of four studies: Consumers think YouTube is their leading podcast platform, yet actual behavior reveals Spotify and YouTube are closely matched in time spent while Apple is stronger than listeners perceive

Across three separate studies, listeners perceive YouTube is their most used podcast platform. According to Triton Digital’s Podcast Metrics Demos+, Edison’s Podcast Metrics, and this recent Podcast Download study, each reveal YouTube’s “use most” score has a substantial lead.

Actual behavior tells a different story. Advertising legend David Ogilvy’s famously said, “People don’t think what they feel, they don’t say what they think, and they don’t do what they say.”

Edison’s “Share of Ear” Q3 2025 study has listeners log all of their audio time spent. Spotify’s share of podcast time spent (29%) slightly edges out YouTube (28%), followed by Apple (18%). “Share of Ear” reveals the “big three” platforms generate 75% of U.S. podcast time spent.

Rounding out the list, “Share of Ear” reports Amazon and iHeart each garner a 4% share of podcast time spent, followed by Pandora (2%). “All other services” make up 15% of podcast time spent. 

Why do people think they spend more time on YouTube for podcasts than their behavior indicates?

Perhaps two factors are at work. First, Americans spend an increasing amount of time with YouTube. The consumption of long-form content (videos 30 minutes or longer) represents an increasing share of YouTube’s time spent. Given the high amount of time spent overall on YouTube, consumers might overestimate their podcast time spent on the platform. 

The second factor is the blurry definition of a podcast. If two people on YouTube have an entertaining discussion show, is that a podcast?  A fair amount of YouTube content could be considered a “podcast.” Both factors could lead the podcast audience to think they are consuming a lot more podcast time on YouTube that actual behavior suggests.

Podcast consumers perceive their podcast time spent with YouTube continuing to grow

When asked, “What platform do you use most for podcasts?”, 42% indicate YouTube, up from 15% in July 2019.

Podcast discovery: YouTube is the place to be found

As the world’s entertainment search engine, YouTube leads for podcast content discovery, head and shoulders over the other platforms.

Why do podcast consumers continue to watch and listen to their podcasts on YouTube? A multitude of factors are cited, including YouTube features (video, comments, recommendations) which prove quite sticky. Another factor?

The weekly podcast audience indicates YouTube is their entertainment “home base”. Thus, they come for the podcasts and stay for everything else.

YouTube is not the walled garden of podcasts

70% of the YouTube podcast audience say they would switch platforms from YouTube if a podcast were to become available only on another platform.

Content wears the crown: Podcast consumers easily switch between platforms for the same podcast

Imagine being able to watch your favorite video streaming series on ANY video streaming platform! It’s a given in the world of podcasts.

Given that most podcasts are available on all platforms, it’s natural for the podcast audience to use multiple platforms for the same content or show. 52% of YouTube podcast consumers say they already have consumed the same podcasts on YouTube in another place.

“Can only listen” is why people consume a podcast on a platform other than YouTube

Being on the go, in a vehicle, or engaging in an activity where a screen cannot be watched are some of the reasons the podcast audience gives for consuming a podcast on a platform other than YouTube.

Most of the Apple and Spotify platform podcast tuning occurs via the smartphone; Nearly half of YouTube’s podcast audience uses laptops/tablets and TVs, according to Edison Podcast Metrics

TV sets now represent nearly 10% of podcast time spent, significantly more than smart speakers

Edison’s Q3 2025 “Share of Ear” reveals 8% of podcast time spent occurs on a TV, four times the share of smart speakers (2%). In the most recent Podcast Download study, 12% say the smart TV was the last device they used to consume a podcast, six times those who say they listened via a smart speaker (2%).

Unsurprisingly, among those who say they prefer to actively watch podcasts, 17% indicate the TV was the device used last to consumer a podcast.

Key takeaways:

• Audio remains the primary mode of consumption, despite the growing video option: Podcast consumers have the option to either watch or listen and the vast majority (92%) continue to choose to listen. A small minority (8%) say they only watch podcasts
• YouTube is not a walled garden of podcasts: 70% of weekly podcast consumers on YouTube say they would switch platforms from YouTube if a podcast were to become available only on another platform. 52% of YouTube podcast consumers say they listened to the same podcasts on another platform.
• YouTube is the leading podcast platform for the third year, but no single platform dominates: While consumers perceive YouTube is their most used platform, actual time spent reveals Spotify and YouTube are closely matched. No single platform captures the majority of “most used.”
• Watchable podcasts have grown in popularity: Driven by Podcast Newcomers, more consumers prefer podcasts with video they can actively watch or minimize to listen in the background vs. podcasts that are just audio.
• Podcast discovery: YouTube is the place to be found: YouTube acts as an entertainment search engine. 45% of weekly podcast consumers who listened to a new podcast in the past 6 months started listening to their latest podcast on YouTube.
• With the rise of podcast watching, smart TVs are more used more than smart speakers.

Click here to download a PDF of the full report.

Click here to sign up to attend the Podcast Download webinar this Thursday.

Liz Mayer is the Senior Insights Manager of the Cumulus Media | Westwood One Audio Active Group^®.

Paul Riismandel is the President/CEO of Signal Hill Insights.

Contact the Insights team at CorpMarketing@westwoodone.com.