iHeartMedia, Podtrac Surveys: Podcast Listening Outlook For The Holidays

Podtrac

Based on an iHEARTMEDIA survey of podcast listeners conducted between AUGUST 31st and SEPTEMBER 7th  of this year, six in 10 expect to spend the same or more time than last year traveling by car over the holidays, and eight in 10 plan to spend more time than last year with family.

Will more time in the car lead to more podcast listening?  Or does more family time mean less podcast listening?  iHEARTMEDIA EVP HETAL PATEL believes podcast listeners actively looking forward to the holidays can only be good for podcast listening. 

Commented PATEL, “Our survey indicates that three-quarters of podcast listeners are looking for experiences that improve their mood this holiday season.  Podcast listening has continued to grow during the pandemic and given the early indicators we are seeing; we expect people to continue listening to podcasts as it provides the enjoyment they crave.”

Based on PDTRAC’s measurement data for the Top 100 podcasts it measures, WEDNESDAYS are consistently the highest podcast listening day of the week with traffic dipping on the weekends and SUNDAY being the lowest listening day of the week as illustrated by the Q4 2019 data.  This pattern has continued through the pandemic to date.
 
PODTRAC data also shows that OCTOBER tends to be the highest podcast listening month of the year, with downloads dipping during NOVEMBER and DECEMBER, but not as low as levels earlier in the year.
 
Podcast listening tends to drop over THANKSVIGING, CHRISTMAS and NEW YEAR'S holidays per data from PODTRAC, but is above average before and after those holidays, with strongest listening for the season in early JANUARY.
 
While overall podcast listening is down slightly in NOVEMBER and DECEMBER from OCTOBER levels, two categories - Music and Leisure - showed increased listening during this time frame in 2019, per data from PODTRAC.
 
Added PODTRAC CEO MARK McCRERY, “It will certainly be interesting to track the data to determine if the pandemic does have an influence on podcast listening over this holiday season."

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