\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tEdison noticed a surge<\/a> in young consumers\u2019 audio listening last year. Among all age demos, the biggest increase in time spent listening to spoken word audio was seen among listeners aged 13 to 34, who devoted 23% of listening time to spoken word audio, up from 11% in 2014. That compared with smaller jumps among adults 55 and over, who dedicated 28% of time spent listening to spoken word audio in 2024, up slightly from 26% a decade earlier. For listeners aged 35 to 54, spoken word audio rose to 28% from 22% in 2014.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tSo, what changed? The popularity of video podcasts is a major factor. YouTube, not Spotify, is Americans\u2019 top destination for podcasts<\/a>. However, Spotify is moving deeper into video podcasts \u2014 with encouraging results. More than 350 million users, up 65% from a year ago, streamed one of the estimated 430,000 video podcasts by the second quarter, the company revealed in its July 29 earnings call. What\u2019s more, video consumption on Spotify is growing 20 times faster than audio consumption. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe type of podcasts that are popular has changed, too. The most popular podcast at Apple Podcasts in 2014 was NPR\u2019s Fresh Air, an interview show that launched in 1975. NPR and public radio \u2014 which are facing deep budget cuts<\/a> \u2014 owned the top 10 list that year<\/a>: This American Life, Radiolab, Planet Money and Wait Wait\u2026.Don\u2019t Tell Me also made the list. Basically, podcasts of that era gave radio listeners an opportunity to time-shift their favorite radio programs.\u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThat was also the year of the first season of Serial, a groundbreaking 12-part audio series that delved into a murder conviction. Serial was an important transition point for the format, built for the podcast age but produced by public radio station WBEZ and created by Sarah Koenig, a former producer for WBEZ\u2019s This American Life.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n \n\tPodcasting looked much different in 2024, which saw people gravitate to younger shows created as alternatives to legacy radio shows. The Joe Rogan Experience, the quintessential alternative to legacy media, topped Edison\u2019s list of the most popular podcasts<\/a> in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of 2024 (it was No. 3 on Apple\u2019s list in 2014). Legacy brands appear further down the list: This American Life was No. 17, Serial (now owned by the New York Times) was No. 23 and NPR\u2019s Up First, a daily podcast created in 2017 to provide bite-sized news content, was No. 25. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tThe Daily from The New York Times, which claimed the No. 3 spot, is the closest thing in the top 10 to legacy media. By and large, the most popular podcasts are no longer radio shows. True crime and shows hosted by actors and comedians, not narrative series in the vein of Serial, now dominate. Call Her Daddy, hosted by 30-year-old Alex Cooper, was No. 4. This Past Weekend by comedian Theo Von was No. 5. Talk Tuah with Hailey Welch, better known as \u201cThe Hawk Tuah Girl,\u201d fell just outside the top 10 at the No. 11 spot. \u00a0<\/p>\n \n\tAudiences\u2019 avoidance of radio is having financial consequences. On Thursday (Aug. 7), Cumulus Media reported a 13% decline in broadcast radio revenue in the second quarter. iHeartMedia, which reports Q2 earnings on Aug. 11, reported a 5.2% decline in broadcast radio revenue in Q1.\u00a0Radio companies have kept their heads above water by cutting costs and building digital businesses \u2014 including podcasts \u2014 but broadcast radio, which is still an important source of promotion (for labels) and royalties (for publishers), is in trouble. \u00a0<\/p>\n![\"Corporation](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/corporation-for-public-broadcasting-billboard-1800.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Jennifer](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/Jennifer-Witz-2023-Billboard-pr-1800.jpg\")
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