The Three Most Important Statistics about News Podcast Listeners

Last week, the Sounds Profitable Education Series marched inexorably on, with a report on the audience for News podcasts, which was made possible by our friends at National Public Media/NPR. You can download the full report here (and watch the webinar), but this week I wanted to highlight what I thought were the three coolest findings of this project.

News is the second-most popular genre of podcasting (only Comedy attracts more consumers) with 31% of podcast consumers checking out a news podcast in the last 30 days. At first blush, the fact that the age profile for the audience for News consumers is nearly identical to the makeup of the US population seems like a fairly anodyne finding, but the reality is that News as we know it has changed, likely forever. The days of Americans of all ages gathering around a TV at 6 or 6:30 PM every night to watch one of a handful of TV news broadcasts are probably in our rear view mirror.

The mean age of the News podcast consumer is about 47 – pretty close to the average age of the 18+ population. But consider these average ages:

MSNBC: 70

FOX News: 69

CNN: 67

Now, as a bit of a graybeard myself, I am not going to tread into ageism here. I’ll tell you what ageism is: the fact that pretty much the only ads I see on network TV news broadcasts are all pharmaceutical ads, as if I spend my entire day clutching my chest and looking for pills. But let’s set that aside: there is no question that news podcasts and TV news are reaching two entirely different sets of consumers. And the fact that news consumers can balance daily news podcasts (crucial for developing a podcast habit) with weekly, long-form analysis and commentary podcasts that they trust cements podcast very firmly into the lives of these consumers in a very unique way.

If you want to understand why some podcasts break through while others languish, look at the social dynamics among news podcast listeners:

– 73% receive recommendations from their social circle (vs. 51% of non-news listeners)

– 73% recommend podcasts to others (vs. 49% of non-news listeners)

– 83% say they’re likely to listen to a podcast recommended by someone they know

This isn’t just marginally higher – it’s dramatically higher than non-news podcast listeners. News podcast consumers aren’t passive – they’re active evangelists who drive discovery through word-of-mouth.

This word-of-mouth factor can’t be overstated. When we talk about podcast growth, we often focus on algorithms and platform features. But these numbers suggest that human connection remains the most powerful driver of podcast adoption.

But here is where the news audience really stands out:

News podcast consumers are much more likely to listen to or watch podcasts with other humans – often 2 or more. Part of this is down to the context for habitual daily news consumption, which (unlike other forms of podcast consumption) is likely tied to a specific morning ritual, or a commute. 88% of news podcast consumers who co-listen with others rate “listening in a car or while traveling” as an important benefit of podcasts, compared to 66% of podcast consumers in general.

Here’s the sobering part of the data: 21% of news podcast listeners report stopping a podcast due to too many ads, and 14% cite repetitive content as a reason for abandoning shows.

This challenges the conventional wisdom that the host relationship overcomes *all* advertising friction. Even with the higher engagement of news podcast listeners, there are limits to what they’ll tolerate.

But there’s a fascinating flip side: 61% say they’re likely to listen to a brand-sponsored podcast, and 46% say a company’s involvement makes them more likely to try a new podcast (compared to 34% of non-news listeners). This suggests that when brands become true content partners rather than just advertisers, listeners are remarkably receptive.

Finally, if you grew up like I did, the nightly news was a tentpole event – the family gathered around the TV or at least had it on during dinner, to hear in the background and spark family conversation. Those tentpoles have fragmented, and moved to social media, websites, and of course, podcasts. But unlike social and websites, podcasts don’t have to be a solitary activity – there is no reason why the daily news cannot once again become a family or group touchstone to start or end the day, sparking conversation and (one hopes) friendly debate. Podcast consumers trust the hosts of their favorite news podcasts – more than they trust almost any other source of news. This is a powerful draw for the medium, and a powerful selling point for advertisers.

For more on the audience for News podcasts, check out The News Podcast Consumer, from Sounds Profitable and National Public Media/NPR, here. And I will see you next week for more on the power of branded podcasts! To wrap up, here is a handy one-page infographic summarizing all of the news about the news!