NPR/Edison Research Spoken Word Audio Report Shows Increases In Audience Size, Time Spent Listening

More Listening, And For Longer

NPR VP/Sponsorship Marketing TREVOR JOHNSON and EDISON RESEARCH VP MEGAN LAZOVICK unveiled the findings of the Spoken Word Audio Report for 2022, derived from EDISON's Share of Ear research, in a webinar THURSDAY afternoon (10/27). The report's key takeaways are that the share of audio listening among spoken word audio listeners has increased 45% in the last eight years, with 26 million more people listening in 2022 than in 2014; time spent listening to spoken word among younger listeners has skyrocketed, with 13-24s up 214% in that time; and that more than half of listening among spoken word listeners is to spoken word programming.

Other findings include that 46% of Americans listen to spoken word audio daily; Listening has increased throughout the day, with the pandemic prompting increases outside of morning hours; The share of audio listening time devoted to spoken word audio has increased across all demographics, most dramatically in the Gen-Z demo; The share of spoken word listening on AM/FM radio has shrunk from 73% in 2014 to 39% today, while mobile devices have jumped from 9% to 34% and are especially popular with younger demographics; Podcast listening has exploded, taking 21% of spoken word time spent listening, up from 8%, while AM/FM has dropped from 79% to 47%; and that unlike older demos, Gen-Z listens more to personality talk than to news/information podcasts.

LAZOVICK said, “The relationship between content makers and listeners remains as strong as it was a decades ago, even as the audio space has evolved with more spoken word content available on demand. Digital platforms have opened up new ways for people to listen to and connect.”

JOHNSON added, “It’s exciting to see the phenomenal sustained growth of Spoken Word across diverse audience groups over the last 8 years -- especially among Gen-Z listeners. The findings in this report highlight the current opportunity and future potential that exists by engaging with audiences through the powerful medium of spoken word.”

Find the entire study here.

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