Highlights from the Canada Podcast Consumer 2018

Download The Podcast Consumer Canada 2018:  English, French

Together with Edison Research, we released The Podcast Consumer 2018 earlier this year, marking the 10th year of issuing the most extensive analysis of American podcast listeners available. Together with Edison, we are proud to release The Podcast Consumer Canada 2018 today.

This report includes new, unreleased information on the demographics of podcast listeners, frequency and location of podcast consumption, smart speaker ownership, and other podcast listening behaviors in Canada. Data is derived from The Infinite Dial Canada 2018 study conducted in partnership with Edison Research.

Key findings from The Podcast Consumer Canada include:

• 19% of adults are Weekly Podcast Listeners
• Podcast listeners have higher incomes and education levels than the average adult
• Weekly podcast listeners spend an average of 6 hours per week listening to podcasts
• Weekly podcast listeners listen to an average of 5 podcasts per week
• Over half of monthly podcast listeners listen to the entire podcast
• In-home is the top listening location for podcasts
• Almost half of podcast listeners listen to podcasts from Public Radio producers
• Monthly podcast listeners who also own smart speakers are more likely than average to own an Alexa

Canadians are quite familiar with the term "podcasting," with 61% of all adults 18+ saying they are familiar with the term. Those aged 35-54 are most likely to have heard of podcasting, with 70% claiming familiarity.  Almost half of Canadians 18+ (47%) have ever listened to a podcast, and the younger the respondent, the more likely they are to have listened. Sixty percent of adults 18-34 have listened to a podcast at some point in time. Twenty-eight percent of all Canadian adults are monthly podcast listeners, and the younger you are, the more likely you are a monthly or weekly podcast listener. Forty-one percent of those age 18-34 are monthly podcast listeners.

The same holds true for weekly podcast listening, with the younger demos showing a higher concentration of weekly podcast listening. Nineteen percent of adults 18+ have listened to a podcast in the past week, while 27% of 18-34-year-olds are weekly podcast listeners.

Monthly podcast listeners in Canada have higher household incomes than the market average. Forty-one percent of monthly podcast consumers have a household income of $75K or more compared to 33% of the average adults in the market. Podcast consumers are also more likely to be in the highest income brackets when compared to the market average.

Canadian podcast listeners age 18+ have higher education levels than the average adult. One-third of monthly podcast listeners in Canada have at least some graduate school, or an advanced degree, and 27% have a four-year degree.

Monthly podcast listeners are much less likely to be retired and more likely to be employed full-time or to be a student than the average adult in Canada. Only 13% of Canadian monthly podcast listeners are retired, compared with 24% of the total 18+ market.  Fifty-three percent of podcast listeners are employed full time and 13% are students.

Podcasts can range in length from just a few minutes to well over an hour or even two. Canadians who are weekly podcast listeners spend an average of six hours and four minutes per week of their audio time listening to podcasts. A little over one-third of them (36%) spend from one to three hours per week, but another 36% spend five hours or more per week with podcasts.

Weekly podcast listeners listen to an average of five podcasts per week. There is a fairly even distribution between those who listen from one to five per week, and then six or more.

Over half of monthly podcast listeners say they listen to the entire podcast, while a little over one-third (35%) don't listen to the entire podcast, but do listen to most of it. Only 10% say they listen to less than half or just the beginning of the podcast.

Those who have been listening for the most number of years were more likely to consume podcasts more often. Twenty-eight percent of weekly podcast consumers have been listening to podcasts for five years or more, while 24% of monthly podcast consumers have been listening five years or more.

At home is the overwhelming top location to listen to podcasts, with 63% of monthly podcast consumers listening most often at home. In-car/truck is a distant second place at 14% and is close to the number of those who listen at work, 11%. Four percent say they listen while walking around.

Just under half all podcast listeners (47%), listen to podcasts from Public Radio producers such as CBC, Radio Canada, or NPR.

Podcast listeners (10%) are just slightly more likely to own a smart speaker, either an Amazon Alexa or a Google Home device, than the average adult in Canada (8%).

But of the podcast listeners who also own smart speakers, they are more likely to own an Amazon Alexa but no Google Home (37%). Overall, the Google Home is a more popular choice with 56% of monthly podcast consumers owning a Google and no Alexa compared to 63% of the adult population of Canadian smart speaker owners. When it comes to Amazon Alexa, though, 37% of podcast listener/smart speaker owners have one compared to 30% of the adult smart speaker owners in Canada. Seven percent of both groups own an Amazon Alexa AND a Google Home.

About  The Podcast Consumer Canada 2018:  In Q1 2018, Edison Research conducted a national telephone survey of 1,000 Canadians aged 18 and older, using random digit dialing techniques to both cell phones and landlines. The survey was offered in both English and French, and the data is weighted to national 18+ population figures.