U.S. Latino Monthly Podcast Listenership Soars 44%

RADIO ONLINE | Tuesday, July 13, 2021

Edison Research

The Latino Podcast Listener Report 2021 from Edison Research finds that 36% of U.S. Latinos age 18+ (16 million people) have listened to a podcast in the last month, which is a 44% increase over 2020. This is narrowing the gap with the overall 18+ U.S. population, of whom 40% are monthly podcast listeners. New research shows that this increase comes from both English-dominant and Spanish-dominant listeners.

One factor may have contributed to the changes seen in the most recent study: the COVID-19 pandemic. Over half (54%) of Latino monthly podcast listeners say they began listening to podcasts during the COVID-19 pandemic (March, 2020 or after). Forty-four percent of non-Spanish dominant U.S. Latino monthly podcast listeners and 57% of Spanish-dominant U.S. Latino monthly podcast listeners began listening within the last year, which reinforces the idea that available content for Latino listeners is increasing.

The number of U.S. Latinos reached daily by podcasts has increased dramatically since pre-pandemic times, with 21% of the U.S. Latino population being reached by podcasts each day, up from only 11% in Q1 2020.

Regarding monetization of podcasts, 58% of U.S. Latino monthly podcasts listeners say they would be likely to pay a small fee to avoid hearing ads on the podcasts they listen. Six million U.S. Latinos say they would be very likely to pay a small fee to listen to ad-free podcasts. In the current ad-based environment, though, U.S. Latinos show an affinity for brands advertised on Latino podcasts -- 75% say they are likely to purchase a brand on a podcast hosted by Latinos.

Seventy-seven percent of U.S. Latino podcast listeners listen to podcasts with a video component. Forty-one percent of U.S. Latino podcast listeners say they prefer consuming a podcast with audio and video, while actively watching the video.

Latino podcast listeners also have unique listening habits and motivations. When they listen to podcasts at home, 49% are spending time with family and friends - more than double that of the overall 18+ population (22%). Thirty-eight percent of U.S. Latino podcast listeners listen to stay connected with their family's country of origin.

Findings from the study debuted in two webinars on July 13, one in English and one in Spanish, presented by Gabriel Soto, Director of Research at Edison Research, and Martina Castro, CEO of Adonde Media. The U.S. Latino Podcast Listener Report is the only comprehensive research on Latino podcast listeners in the U.S.

"Last year's study put so much emphasis on the upside for podcast listening growth among Latinos, but these new findings surpassed our expectations in just one year," said Soto. "The number of monthly podcast listeners among U.S. Latinos soared. And it didn't just take a pandemic, but everyone a part of this beautiful community -- creators, marketers, platforms and everyone else in the industry. We are happy we got to measure the fruits of the labor of so many, and we'll continue doing so - the ceiling is high."

Other findings from the study include:

• 29% of U.S. Latinos are weekly podcast listeners

• 48% of U.S. Latinos say they have ever listened to a podcast mostly in English (up from 36% in 2020)

• 33% of U.S. Latinos say they have ever listened to a podcast mostly in Spanish (up from 24% in 2020)

• 58% U.S. Latino monthly podcast listeners are men, 48% are age 18-34, 35% are Spanish-language dominant

According to Castro, "This second round of the study tells a nuanced and exciting story of a diverse community that is quickly discovering podcasts, and that is growing at an impressive rate. This data once again shows the value of being counted and demands that the industry pay attention to Latinos as a valuable demographic of listeners, both in English and en espanol."

The U.S. Latino Podcast Listener report was commissioned by Adonde Media, Lantigua Williams & Co., Libsyn, PRX, Simplecast, Sonoro, SXM Media, and was conducted by Edison Research. This is the second annual release of the report.