Podcast Listening Continues Shift Toward the Home

RADIO ONLINE | Wednesday, January 7, 2026 | 2:33pm CT

Edison Research

A new insight from Edison Research shows that while overall audio listening has gradually moved back toward pre-pandemic patterns, podcast consumption remains increasingly centered in the home.

The firm's first 2026 release from Edison Podcast Metrics builds on late-2025 findings from Share of Ear, which examined how the COVID-19 pandemic shifted audio listening from cars and workplaces into the home between 2020 and 2022. While most audio listening still takes place at home, Edison notes that general listening behavior is slowly normalizing. Podcasts, however, continue to follow a different trajectory.

According to the data, 48% of weekly podcast consumers in 2019 said they most often listened to podcasts at home. That figure rose sharply to 58% in 2020 during the height of the pandemic. Rather than declining as restrictions eased, at-home podcast listening has continued to increase, reaching 63% of weekly podcast consumers today.

Edison suggests that evolving consumption habits -- particularly the growth of podcast listening and viewing on connected TVs -- may be reinforcing the home as the primary environment for podcasts. As a result, podcast listening patterns appear less likely to revert to pre-COVID norms than other forms of audio consumption.