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How many Americans listen to or watch podcasts in 2026?
Edison Research at SSRS’s The Infinite Dial 2026 found that 80% of Americans age 12 and older (230 million) had ever listened to or watched a podcast. Monthly consumption reached 58% (167 million), and weekly consumption reached 45% (130 million). Edison reported all three as record highs. The national survey was fielded in January 2026 among 2,050 people age 12 and older and weighted to represent the U.S. population in that age group. Edison Research at SSRS: The Infinite Dial 2026
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These are U.S. figures, not global estimates. “Consumed” is the useful term because the measure includes watching as well as listening; it should not be read as an audio-only listening rate.
How often do people consume podcasts?
| Frequency | Share of Americans age 12+ | Estimated people | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ever | 80% | 230 million | Have listened to or watched a podcast at least once |
| Past month | 58% | 167 million | Consumed a podcast in the previous month |
| Past week | 45% | 130 million | Consumed a podcast in the previous week |
These three measures describe different levels of reach: having tried a podcast, recent monthly use, and more frequent weekly use. They come from the same 2026 survey, so their age group and broad definition of consumption align.
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Podcasting is a two-format medium
In the 2026 Infinite Dial release, 57% of Americans age 12 and older said they had both listened to and watched a podcast. That finding points to overlap between formats, rather than a clean choice between audio and video. Edison Research vice president Megan Lazovick described the change this way: “Video isn’t replacing podcast audio. It’s expanding the tent.” Edison Research at SSRS: The Infinite Dial 2026
Weekly consumers now watch video more often than they listen audio-only
Among weekly podcast consumers, 82% watched podcast video and 78% listened to podcasts audio-only in the Q3 2025 measure reported in Edison’s 2026 Podcast Consumer summary. It was the first reported crossover: in 2023, 73% of weekly consumers watched podcasts, while 89% listened audio-only. These percentages describe specific format behaviors within weekly consumers, not the share of all Americans who watch or listen. Edison Research at SSRS: The Podcast Consumer 2026
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Video’s growth changes what “podcast audience” can mean in a statistic. Check whether a figure counts audio listening alone, video viewing, or either form before comparing it with another year or source.
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What the audience figures say about advertising
Edison reports that 76% of weekly podcast consumers said they had taken an action after hearing a podcast ad. The reported actions include visiting a website, making a purchase, using a promo code, or recommending a product. This is a self-reported measure of having acted; it is not a verified purchase rate, nor does it show how often each type of action occurred. Edison Research at SSRS: The Podcast Consumer 2026
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A separate real-world media-mix analysis by Nielsen Podcast Fusion, powered by Edison Podcast Metrics, found a 41% lift in reach among adults ages 18–54 when podcast budget was added without increasing spend. That result belongs to the analysis and its conditions; it is not a guarantee that every advertiser or campaign will achieve the same lift. Edison Research at SSRS: The Podcast Consumer 2026
How large is the U.S. podcast advertising market?
The IAB’s April 2026 release of the PwC-conducted 2025 Internet Advertising Revenue Report put U.S. podcast advertising revenue at $2.9 billion in 2025. Revenue grew 17.6% year over year, and podcast ads accounted for 1% of total digital advertising revenue. The dollar figure and growth rate are reported market revenue measures, distinct from Edison’s surveys of audience reach and behavior. IAB: Internet Advertising Revenue Report
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An earlier IAB/PwC forecast projected nearly $2.6 billion in U.S. podcast ad revenue by 2026. That was a forecast, not a reported 2026 result; it should not be substituted for the later reported 2025 revenue figure. IAB: Podcast Advertising Revenue Study
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How podcast use has changed since 2025
Edison’s 2025 Infinite Dial reported that 73% of Americans age 12 and older had ever consumed podcasts in audio or video form, 55% had consumed one in the past month, and 40% in the past week. The comparable 2026 figures are 80%, 58%, and 45%. Both years’ combined-consumption measures include audio and video, making them more comparable than an older audio-only series would be. Edison Research: The Infinite Dial 2025
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- Four pickup patterns: Flexible cardioid, omni, bidirectional, and stereo pickup patterns allow you to record in ways that would normally require multiple mics, for vocals, instruments and podcasts
- Onboard audio controls: Headphone volume, pattern selection, instant mute, and mic gain put you in charge of every level of the audio recording and streaming process
- Positionable design: Pivot the mic in relation to the sound source to optimize your sound quality thanks to the adjustable desktop stand and track your voice in real time with no-latency monitoring
The monthly figure alone rose from 55% in 2025 to 58% in 2026. The audience-size estimates are survey measures, not a count of unique people observed directly, and small differences should be interpreted in light of each survey’s methods.
Listening time and AI views: useful context, not reach measures
Edison’s 2026 summary also reports time-use figures for daily podcast consumers: in Q1 2026, they spent an average of 5 hours 11 minutes per day with all audio sources, compared with 3 hours 57 minutes among Americans age 13 and older. Podcasts accounted for 36% of daily audio time and 51% of ad-supported audio time among daily podcast consumers. These figures concern audio time among a particular audience group, not the amount of time the average American spends listening to podcasts. Edison Research at SSRS: The Podcast Consumer 2026
The same summary found differing views of artificial intelligence among weekly podcast consumers: 69% approved of AI use for podcast research and 69% for brainstorming ideas, while 62% considered AI a threat to podcast credibility and 59% a threat to creativity. Approval for particular uses can coexist with concern about the technology’s effects.
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Quick Recap
How to read podcast statistics without mixing unlike measures
- Check geography: the audience and advertising figures here describe the United States; they do not establish global reach or revenue.
- Check the age floor: Infinite Dial reach figures cover people age 12 and older, while the audio-time comparison uses Americans age 13 and older.
- Check the time window: ever, monthly, weekly, and daily figures answer different questions and should not be compared as if they measured the same behavior.
- Check the format: combined audio-and-video consumption is not interchangeable with audio-only listening or video viewing among weekly consumers.
- Check the data type: self-reported audience behavior, a modeled media-mix reach analysis, and reported advertising revenue are separate kinds of evidence, not one integrated measurement.
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