Report Shows Podcasting Now Reaches More Than Half of the U.S. Population as Audio Remains Core and Video Strategy Becomes Genre-Dependent

Triton Digital®, the global technology and services provider to the digital audio, podcast, and broadcast radio industries, today released its fourth annual U.S. Podcast Report for 2025, offering a comprehensive look at how Americans are listening to podcasts across devices, platforms, genres, and demographics. Podcasting now reaches 53% of the U.S. population each month, surpassing the halfway mark for the first time and underscoring podcasting’s growing influence as a core channel for entertainment, information, and advertising.

“Podcasting’s momentum strengthened in 2025, with audio remaining the foundation of the medium while video helped bring in new audiences. What’s most compelling is the diversity podcasting now delivers across content, platforms, and consumers,” said Daryl Battaglia, SVP, Measurement Product Strategy at Triton Digital. “Triton’s report highlights where new listeners are engaging and how their evolving behaviors – including shopping and purchase intent – are creating a highly engaged audience that is increasingly attractive for brand investment.”

Key findings from the 2025 U.S. Podcast Report include:

• Podcast reach continues to expand across demographics, with listeners significantly over-indexing among 18-34-year-olds, college graduates, high-income households, and diverse audiences – reinforcing podcasting’s value as a premium environment for brands.
• Audio remains the primary mode of podcast consumption, even as video continues to grow. The data challenges the assumption that podcasting is becoming video-first, instead revealing a more nuanced, genre-driven reality. Triton’s data found that nearly 13% of consumers 18+ listen to podcasts exclusively via audio – that’s compared to 7% watch-only and 80% who both listen and watch.
• Consumption preferences vary sharply by genre. Categories primarily consumed via audio are Science (58%), History (56%), Fiction (54%), Arts (51%), and True Crime (50%), while Music (34%), Sports (32%), Kids & Family (31%), Comedy (30%), News (30%) skew more heavily toward exclusive video consumption. This emphasizes a need for differentiated content and monetization strategies.
• New podcast listeners are gravitating toward niche genres and demonstrating strong purchase intent, indexing significantly higher for actions such as switching wireless providers (22% more likely), online shopping (49% more likely), and quick-service restaurant (QSR) visits (69% more likely), creating expanding opportunities for advertisers.
• A growing, more diverse podcast audience is creating new high-value advertising opportunities for certain brand verticals, with data showing that new podcast listeners differ meaningfully from long-time listeners in their shopping behaviors and purchase intent. This signals that as the audience evolves, podcast advertising is becoming an increasingly powerful channel for brands seeking high-intent consumers across categories such as retail, QSR, wireless, and ecommerce.
• In Triton Digital’s U.S. Podcast Ranker, iHeart Audience Network ranked #1 in total downloads among sales networks in 2025, while NPR News Now ranked as the most popular podcast overall. Meanwhile, Bulwark Takes ranked #1 among new podcast debuts for the year.

The 2025 report combines insights from IAB Tech Lab–certified Triton Podcast Metrics, Triton Podcast Metrics Demos+, and surveys of 12,000+ monthly U.S. podcast listeners to deliver a detailed view of consumption behavior and audience opportunity across the ecosystem.

The 2025 U.S. Podcast Report is designed to serve as a trusted, third-party resource for publishers, advertisers, and agencies looking to understand market dynamics, guide content and platform strategies, and unlock new revenue opportunities as podcasting continues to evolve into 2026.

To download the full 2025 U.S. Podcast Report, please visit: tritondigital.com

About Triton Digital
Triton Digital® is the global technology and services leader to the digital audio, podcast, and broadcast radio industries. Operating in more than 80 countries, Triton provides innovative technology that enables broadcasters, podcasters, and online music services to build their audience, maximize revenue, and streamline their day-to-day operations. In addition, Triton powers the global online audio industry with Webcast Metrics®, the leading streaming audio measurement service and Podcast Metrics, one of the first IAB-certified podcast measurement services in the industry. With unparalleled integrity, excellence, teamwork, and accountability, Triton remains committed to connecting audio, audience, and advertisers to continuously fuel the growth of the global audio industry. For more information, visit www.TritonDigital.com.

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