Nearly 50% of Americans listen to spoken word content daily

A record number of Americans listen to spoken word content across radio and podcasts, a major report finds, casting new light on a medium of historically critical importance for advertisers and which has found new resurgence over the last decade.

Edison Research, in partnership with NPR, found 48% of Americans listen to spoken word content each day, or roughly 135 million Americans, up from 46% last year. The report defines spoken word content broadly as news, sport, talkshow, or audiobook content – effectively anything that is not music. 

Why spoken word matters

Across the world, the podcast has been one of the most important new forms of content delivery of the last decade – WARC has one too. As with most media formats that have transitioned to the digital realm after a long and lucrative analog life, podcast advertising is slightly more complex than its mass-reach radio ancestor but the lines are increasingly blurring between the two.

Research highlights

• The media equation: Podcasts continue to grow as part of people’s spoken word listening diet with 36% of time overall; radio, both public and commercial, takes 44% of listening time. At home, however, the podcast (40%) is effectively neck and neck with radio (41%). Mobile is now the key device for listening, with 39% of listening taking place through a phone (versus just 9% in 2014). 
• What people like: Personalities and talk shows are the most popular single genre of spoken word content, with news and information in second across listening locations. 
• Listening occasions are now more complex: Morning commute hours remain the most popular times to tune in, but the historic truism of a second afternoon peak during the later commute is not nearly as clearcut: “The afternoon drive time seems to have been flattened out over several hours,” explained Megan Lazovick, Edison VP, during a webinar presentation of the research last week. 
• Home is crucial: 60% of spoken word audio listening happens at home, 24% in the car, 13% at work, and 3% elsewhere. Critically, the car is still a vital space for AM/FM radio listening and this accounts for 62% of spoken word audio. 
• Thoughtful listening: Over the last decade, spoken word has boomed in people’s media diets with its share of audio listening up 55% since 2014. Today, 31% of total listening time in the US goes to non-music content and there is a hardcore group of fans—around half of spoken word listeners dedicate more time to this form than they do to music.

Sourced from Edison Research/NPR, WARC 

[Image: Edison Research/NPR]