It’s been quite a year for Edison Research, and we are grateful for our team, our clients, our research partners, our new SSRS colleagues, and the many opportunities we had to conduct research in 2025. We are proud to share some of our favorite insights from this year’s work. Wishing you all health, success, and happiness in the New Year! The Top 10 Findings are listed below. Please scroll down to view a replay of the webinar or to download the presentation deck.
10. Video is redefining the podcast landscape: 73% of Americans 12+ and older have ever consumed a podcast – either in audio or video form; 52% of Americans 12+ consider YouTube-only discussion videos to be podcasts. Oxford Road and Edison Research White Paper, The Infinite Dial 2025
9. YouTube is the Top Platform for Podcast Consumption and Discovery among Gen Z: 36% of Gen Z weekly podcast listeners use YouTube most often to consume podcasts and 35% use Spotify most often for podcasts; 28% of Gen Z who have listened to a podcast in the last month discover podcasts most often by searching on YouTube, followed by 26% who use social media posts for podcast suggestions.The Gen Z Audio Report from SiriusXM Media, Edison’s Weekly Insights
8.TikTok is a platform for discovery for music, podcasts, and audiobooks, particularly among young people: 64% of weekly TikTok users ages 13+ say they use TikTok with the intention to discover new music, 47% with the intention to discover podcasts, and 30% with the intention to discover audiobooks. Those numbers are higher among weekly TikTok users ages 13-24: 75% of them are using the platform to discover new music, 51% to discover new podcasts, and 34% to discover new audiobooks. The Infinite Scroll: A TikTok Report from Edison Research
7.Podcast Fandom Goes Beyond Listening: 43% of podcast fans have engaged with podcasts through other forms of media such as TV, books, games, events, and more; 62% are fans because podcasts help them feel like they’re part of something bigger than themselves. The Fandom Phenomenon from Wondery and Dentsu
6.Women’s voices matter in Podcast and Music: Women-hosted shows are increasingly dominant with around half of the top 25 shows among women having female hosts or co-hosts, compared to just 40% among the Adult 18+ audience; 43% of women podcast listeners agree that podcasts with female perspectives cover topics that are not found in other media; 31% specifically seek out podcasts that are produced or hosted by women; Younger women are far more likely to consume podcasts hosted by women, 54% of those aged 18 to 34 say that all or most of the podcast they listen to are hosted by women; 18-34, 37% report that all or most of the musical artists they regularly listen to are female. Women’s Audio Report: Women and Podcasts from SiriusXM Media and Edison Research, Women’s Audio Report: Women and Music from SiriusXM Media and Edison Research
5. a. The majority of all daily listening time is spent with ad-supported audio: 64% of all audio listening in a typical day among those ages 13+ is to ad-supported sources. Even among younger listeners, those ages 13-34, over half their daily listening is to ad-supported sources. Share of Ear from Edison’s Weekly Insights
b. The time spent with streaming music has shifted from free to paid platforms: In 2015, 78% of time spent with streaming music went to free sources and 22% went to paid sources. Today, Q3 2025, Americans spend 66% of their daily streaming music listening with paid sources and 34% of time with free sources. Share of Ear from Edison’s Weekly Insights
4.In-car shifts to digital while majority of listening is to radio: 40% of vehicles now have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto systems, up from 26% just two years ago. Of those age 18+ who have driven or ridden in a car in the last month, 83% of those with CarPlay or Android auto say they use them, and only 17% of those who have the systems say they do not use them. Those who do not have Apple CarPlay or Android Auto in the car spend 62% of their in-car listening time using AM/FM radio, and those who have phone integration in the car spend 47% of their in-car listening time with AM/FM radio. The Infinite Dial 2025 , The Infinite Dial in Edison’s Weekly Insights, Share of Ear in Edison’s Weekly Insights
3. Shifting Ad Budget to Podcasts Can Increase Reach: Data from Nielsen Podcast Fusion powered by Edison Research means that podcasts can be included in media plans, backed by listening data, to optimize campaigns across TV, radio, and other platforms. Podcast Metrics podcast listening data that is now integrated into Nielsen’s media planning tool used by agencies nationwide, Nielsen Media Impact (NMI). One example shows how a 27% increase in reach can be achieved with no increase in ad spending and just by moving money into podcasts. Nielsen Podcast Fusion powered by Edison Research in Edison’s Weekly Insights
1. Consumption of AI-narrated audio is increasing: While American’s usage of AI-narrated audio books increased in 2025, the willingness to try AI-narrated audiobooks dropped year-over-year, from 77% in 2023 to 70% in 2025. Among weekly podcast listeners, 22% indicated that they have listened to podcasts narrated by AI. The Audio Publishers Association 2025 Consumer Survey
Bonus finding; More than 30% of Americans are awake by 6am: 30.1% of Americans ages 13+ are awake by 6:00am, 44.6% are awake by 6:30am, and only 1.9% say they wake up after 11am. Edison Research National Survey in Edison Podcast Metrics
