Apple Falls Behind in Podcast Market as YouTube and Spotify Surge Ahead [Chart]

Apple has fallen to a distant third place in the US podcasts market with YouTube and Spotify surging ahead in popularity, according to a new report from Cumulus Media.

For the twelfth edition of the Podcast Download series, Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights retained MARU/Matchbox to conduct an in-depth study of 603 weekly podcast consumers from April 19-24, 2024. Two studies are conducted annually. The Spring 2024 Report highlights trends from prior studies and examines topics such as platform preference, content trends, perceptions of brand safety and content appropriateness, and more.

The study found that 31% of podcast listeners now use YouTube as their primary platform for podcast consumption. Compare that to 21% for Spotify and just 12% for Apple Podcasts. In 2019, it was Apple that dominated with 29% of the market, compared to 16% for Spotify and just 15% for YouTube.


In 2021, YouTube was the third most accessed destination for podcasts. In 2022, it tied Spotify as the platform used most among weekly podcast listeners. Now across three studies in 2023 and 2024, YouTube has pulled away from the pack and leads as the most used podcast audience platform in the U.S.



Here's some more findings of the study...

Key takeaways:
● YouTube is the most utilized podcast listening platform in the U.S.: 31% say it is the platform they use the most, followed by Spotify (21%) and Apple (12%)
● YouTube is used most among Podcast Newcomers, Podcast Pioneers, and heavy podcast consumers
● YouTube podcast audience profile: Male and younger than the Apple Podcasts audience
● As the world's entertainment search engine, YouTube is the dominant podcast discovery platform where audiences are more likely to find podcasts
● Those who discover a podcast on YouTube say they stick with the platform for video, comments, community, entertainment, recommendations, and platform features
● However, the YouTube podcast audience is not exclusively tied to the platform
● Watching and listening to podcasts are equally favored
● Podcast Newcomers are more likely to prefer actively watching podcast videos; Those who began listening to podcasts 4+ years ago favor the audio-only experience
● YouTube dominates association as the platform where podcasts can be watched and heard
● Not all genres work for watchable podcasts: Consumers who prefer to watch are more likely to like News/Current Events and Sports podcasts; Among those who prefer to listen, True Crime is the leading podcast genre
● The vast majority of the Apple and Spotify platform audience uses the smartphone, while 38% of YouTube's podcast audience uses laptops and TV


Hit the link below for the full report...

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