Who are podcast listeners? According to studies from Edison Research, Cumulus Media and Nielsen, today’s podcast audience is young, educated, employed and upscale — making this an audience that advertisers may want to reach.
According to data from Edison Research’s Share of Ear study, Cumulus Media’s Podcast Download release, and Nielsen’s Scarborough USA+ studies, podcast listeners are on average 14 years younger than the AM/FM radio audience (median age 48) and 20 years younger than broadcast television network audiences (median age 54). The median age of podcast listeners — aged 34 — has stayed relatively consistent quarter over quarter for the last three years, according to the Edison Share of Ear research and Nielsen Scarborough USA+ study.
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The podcast audience is an attractive one due to their education and upscale lifestyle, said Pierre Bouvard, chief insights officer at Cumulus Media-Westwood One, in a recent blog. More than half of podcast listeners over 18 who have listened to an audio podcast in the last 30 days are employed in a white-collar occupation. Of those, 55% have a household income of more than $75,000 and 39% hold a management position.
A Nielsen podcast study released in May 2021broke down several key background factors even further to include employment and graduation status. The percent of persons aged 18 or older who have listened to an audio podcast included full time employees (56%), individuals with a household income of more than $100,000 (39%) and achievers with post-graduate degrees (16%).
All of these factors contribute to making this group an audience that advertisers want to reach, Bouvard said.
