SXM Media Releases Women's Podcast Listenership Report

RADIO ONLINE | Thursday, December 1, 2022 | 11:39am CT

SXM Media

SXM Media in partnership with Edison Research has released the Women's 2022 Podcast Report, a dedicated analysis of the listening behaviors of U.S. women 18 and older. The report shows how podcast listenership among women is up 67% (over the past 5 years) with women on average listening to 5.7 different genres or topics. The report also details daily listening habits, generational and lifestyle-specific habits and how women engage with content beyond listening and areas for improvement/growth in the podcasting arena.

Conducted by Edison Research, The Women's 2022 Podcast Report captures the listening behaviors of women across the nation to determine and explore new growth, emerging themes and established demographics. Stemming from previous studies like the Latino Podcast Report and Black Podcast Listener Report, this report is the next iteration in SXM Media's endeavor to elevating underrepresented voices.

The following are key stats, including unpublished info from Edison Research's 2022 Infinite Dial now being sharing as part of this report:

Podcast Listenership Among Women is Up

• More than 1 in 3 U.S. women 18+ (35%) have listened to a podcast in the past month, up 67% over the past 5 years, and now representing an estimated 47 million women.

• Over the past 5 years, women have started closing the gender gap in a medium that once skewed heavily male. In 2017, only 44% of U.S. 18+ monthly podcast listeners were female. In 2022 48% are female, more closely mirroring the U.S. population.

• Women monthly podcast listeners stand out from total U.S. women ages 18+. They are younger (48% more likely to be ages 18-34), more likely to be in the workforce (47% more likely to be employed full time), have a higher income (36% more likely to have household income of $100k or more) and highly educated (22% more likely to have a college degree).

• Women listen to a variety of podcast content - on average, they listen to 5.7 different genres or topics. Some groups are even more voracious, with women aged 25-34 listening to 6.9 topics, Hispanic women listening to 6.8 topics, and moms listening to 6.5 topics.

• Women listen to podcasts both at home and on the go. 2 in 3 monthly listeners listen to podcasts in the home most often, with 6 in 10 sometimes listening in a car/vehicle. Further, 3 in 4 monthly listeners listen to podcasts via mobile devices (smartphone or tablet) most often.

• Women listen to a diverse slate of podcast topics ranging from entertaining to informational content. Comedy leads overall, followed by true crime, love & relationships, entertainment/celebrity/gossip, news & information, and wellness/self-Improvement. That said, content preferences vary by age, ethnicity and parental status.

• Gen Z Women over-index for listening to podcasts about language (165 index), horror (154), drama (153), celebrity/gossip/entertainment (134), and beauty/fashion (132)

• Gen Z women over-index for being interested in hearing female-focused podcasts on LGBTQ+ (185), gender (172), sex positivity (165), reproductive rights (145), and dating/relationships (143)

• Of note, millennial women over-index on many of the same interests as Gen Z, but with the addition of astrology (145) and motherhood (139)

• Hispanic women over-index for fantasy/sci-fi (185), children's topics (175), horror (157), language (155), and drama (152)

• Black women over-index for love & relationships (156), wellness/ self-improvement (136), drama (136), adult fiction (136), and celebrity/gossip/entertainment (134). Black women over-index on interest in hearing female-focused podcasts on social justice (148), public policy (135), business/economy (134), and self-care (126)

• Moms over-index for children's, language, sports, adult fiction, and fantasy/sci-fi Moms over-index on interest in hearing female-focused podcasts on kids & family (171), motherhood (163), dating/relationships (118), fiction (115), and reproductive rights (114)

• There is still room for growth when it comes to amplifying voices of women of color in podcasting. Among monthly listeners, 57% of Multicultural Women (and 67% of W18-24) wish that there were more podcasts that focus on women of color. Almost half of Multicultural Women (47%; and 55% of W18-24) who are monthly listeners say they have a hard time finding podcasts that focus on women of color.

• Over half of women listeners say they would listen to more podcasts if there were more that included female stories and perspectives (55%). 52% say they would listen to more podcasts if there were more hosted by women.

• Podcasts are spaces that fulfill unique needs for women listeners. Of respondents, 55% say it's important that podcasts include unfiltered conversations that can't be heard elsewhere, and 4 in 10 (40%) say it's important that podcasts discuss taboo or controversial topics.

• When asked what podcast topics they would want to hear in the lens of female stories & perspectives, self-care, mental health, friendships, true crime, and dating/relationships topped the list for women monthly listeners.

• Hearing an ad from a brand in a podcast with female hosts or producers makes women listeners more likely to consider (41%), recommend (36%), purchase (31%) and spend more (26%) on the brand compared to hearing ads on other podcasts.

• Almost half of women listeners (48%) would feel more favorable about a brand if they knew it advertises on female-hosted or produced podcasts.

• 9 in 10 (90%) women monthly podcast listeners say they listen to at least one podcast that is hosted or produced by a woman.

• Women engage with their favorite shows via social media, with 56% of monthly listeners having followed a podcast on social media, 51% having followed a podcast host on social media, and 40% having shared a podcast on social media.

• They follow hosts/shows on social media to stay up to date on the show (60%), to show their support of the show (58%), and to feel more connected with the community (37%), even talking to other listeners through social channels (32%).

• SXM Media is the #1 podcast network among women 18+, reaching 48% more female listeners than the next podcast network.

• 5 of the top 25 shows among women are SXM Media podcasts, more than any other podcast network.

• Crime Junkie is the #1 podcast among women. Crime Junkie is hosted by Ashley Flowers, Founder and CEO of Audiochuck, a female-focused podcast network within the SXM Media portfolio.