Westwood One Unveils 'Podcast Download Fall 2017 Report'

Podcast Report

WESTWOOD ONE unveiled its "Podcast Download Fall 2017 Report" at the INTERACTIVE ADVERTISING BUREAU's Upfront event TODAY (8/7).

The report, created with MARU/VISION CRITICAL, includes several key findings, among them that 42% of weekly podcast listeners say they listen at higher speed -- "speed listening" -- with possible effects on listening to ads ("ad zipping"); that heavy podcast listeners (adults 18+ who have listened to 6+ hours of podcasts in the last week) make up 69% of weekly hours listened and are more likely to use new tech platforms like Amazon Alexa, voracious consumers of streaming video, heavy users of AM/FM radio, and watch more TV than the average weekly podcast listener; listeners say they would accept more ads in podcasts and heavy listeners are more accepting of pre-produced ads; half of weekly podcast listeners and nearly 70% of heavy podcast listeners would be interested in an ad-free subscription model; and, oddly, podcast listeners say they listen to 24% more podcasts than they download a week.

“The insights we revealed today on stage at the IAB Podcast Upfront, and in the Podcast Download Fall 2017 report, are a direct reflection of what the most passionate podcast consumers want in an optimized listening experience,” said CUMULUS MEDIA EVP, Corporate Marketing, Cumulus Media and WESTWOOD ONE President SUZANNE GRIMES, “Uncovering the opportunity of greater ad loads, the rise of ‘speed listening’ and a subscription opportunity is valuable information for marketers, content creators, and podcast producers exploring new revenue models. We are bullish on podcasting at WESTWOOD ONE and are actively investing resources to learn as much as we can about this fascinating and fertile audio space.”

FInd the report at westwoodone.com.

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