The Stitcher Podcasting Report

T H E S T I T C H E R P O D C A S T I N G R E P O R T 2 0 2 0
1

As one of the original podcast players, one of the first to operate on Android, and a top-used platform for a decade, Stitcher is
uniquely positioned to offer valuable data to the podcast community. By releasing this data, we are providing a fresh look at
the breadth, depth and growth of the industry over the past 10 years.
The information in this report provides a look at the industry’s evolution, where it stands today, and the trends that are
shaping its future. We break down top shows and genres, user demographics, listener behavior, regional distinctions, and
more.
The data underlying this report are derived, for the most part, from actual in-app user behavior. Some demographic data
(specifically cited on page 3) come from self-reported survey data which have been cross-referenced with other data sets.
We’re excited to be the first platform in the podcast industry to pull back the curtain on our data to add to the understanding
of podcast listeners and help us all advance this medium — there’s something for everyone here.
— The Stitcher Team
Welcome to the inaugural Stitcher Podcasting Report, a first-of-its-kind
look at the podcast listener from a behavioral data perspective.
2

About this report
To compile this report, the Stitcher data team analyzed 10 years of content and listener behavior data
collected directly from the Stitcher App and combined it with user-reported data and demographics
from our PodSurvey, the industry’s largest ongoing survey of podcast listeners. Here’s more about our
data sources:
Stitcher App data: Stitcher captures data on specific user actions within the Stitcher podcast app
environment, including which shows are consumed, when, and for how long. All data is aggregated
across monthly active users. Unless otherwise noted, behavioral data is taken from the period of Jan.
1 to Dec. 31, 2019.
PodSurvey data: Hosts of the hundreds of shows for whom Stitcher sells advertising ask their
listeners to take our short online survey throughout the year. All data that references PodSurvey in
this report is based on the nearly 110,000 responses received in 2019. All non-behavioral data in this
report (e.g., demographics, years listened) is therefore self-reported.
Additional data notes
We use several user behaviors to make
comparisons and draw conclusions throughout
the report. For a quick reference, here are some
of the most common:
Binge listen: When a user listens to at least 90%
of three episodes of one show in one day.
Completion rate: The percentage of an episode
that was listened to.
Favorited show: A show that a user has clicked
to add to their “Favorites” within the Stitcher
app. New episodes are then automatically
downloaded per the user’s account settings. This
action is also often referred to as “subscribing”
to a show.
Hours listened: The amount of time a user has
spent listening to a show or episode.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter 1: Content (pg. 4 – 21)
Chapter 2: Listening Behavior (pg. 22 – 32)
Chapter 3: The Stitcher Listener (pg. 33 – 40)
© 2020 Stitcher
3

The past decade in podcasting has been defined by explosive growth and change in the content
landscape. Ten years ago, the podcasts that topped the charts were mostly rebroadcast radio
shows and a few breakout podcast-only shows. Today, podcast-first shows dominate, but public
radio shows are still popular. The mini-series has emerged as a popular format, and new crime
shows have left listeners thirsty for more of the “true crime” genre. In this chapter, we track this
growth and explore the evolving story around show formats, genres, episode lengths and more.
Two words that sum up the
past decade in podcast content:
explosive growth.
S T I T C H E R R E P O R T 2 0 2 0
CONTENT
5

CONTENT
6
Key Content Findings
The growth of podcast content is not slowing down.
• 350,000 podcasts have been published to Stitcher since 2010.
• Close to 7 million episodes were published to Stitcher in 2019 alone.
Old favorites have staying power.
• 17 shows that were in the top 100 in 2010 are still in the top 100 as many established shows retain fans
and continue to find new listeners.
New formats and genres have emerged.
• The newer “true crime” genre came in No. 1 for total listening hours and binge-listening hours in 2019.
• The number of mini-series podcasts grew from 4 in 2010 to more than 52,000 in 10 years.
Episodes are trending shorter.
• The average show length has decreased by 2.4 minutes since 2013.
• Reported or scripted shows tend to be shorter, while chat-based shows are longer.

Podcasts Then and Now
2010
Rebroadcast radio
shows dominate.
There are 4
mini-series shows.
The Joe Rogan Experience, WTF
with Marc Maron, and alt comedy
shows start to surface.
2019
Podcast-first shows dominate.
Commercial rebroadcast shows
have dropped as a % of all shows.
Shows originating on public radio
are still popular.
The mini-series format has
grown to 52,289 shows.
CONTENT
7

Source: Stitcher App data.
*Note: Podcasters must proactively add their show to the Stitcher App, either through their hosting
provider or by uploading to our platform directly.
Total Podcasts Published to Stitcher
GGI
CONTENT
8
The number of
episodes grew at a
62% compound
annual growth rate
from 2014–2019.
6.8 million episodes
were published to
Stitcher in 2019.

N/A: Show launched after 2010. Source: Stitcher App data.
When ranked by number of listeners, 17 shows that were in the top 100 in 2010 were still in the top 100 in 2019.
21
110
N/A
101
N/A
1
2
3
4
5
20102019
RANK
N/A
N/A
N/A
N/A
29
16
17
18
19
20
20102019
RANK
Top 25 Podcasts Compared, 2010-2019
N/A
103
N/A
N/A
5
11
12
13
14
15
20102019
RANK
N/A
46
N/A
N/A
N/A
6
7
8
9
10
20102019
RANK
N/A
11
N/A
22
N/A
21
22
23
24
25
20102019
RANK
CONTENT
9

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101
AGE
18–34
Generations of Podcast Listeners
*Based on the number of “Favorites” (subscribers) per show.
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101
AGE
35–55
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101
AGE
56+
CONTENT
Most favorited* podcasts by age group (2019)
10
True crime shows
top the charts
for the 18- to
55-year-old age
groups.
The 56+ age
group has
more diverse
show preferences,
with a mix of
news, culture
and history shows
in top spots.

Female
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101
Content Interests Across Identities
CONTENT
Most favorited* podcast by gender (2019)
Male
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101
Non-
conforming
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101
Source: PodSurvey/Stitcher App data.
*Based on the number of “Favorites” (subscribers) per show.
11
True crime shows
are popular with
women.
Men have
more diverse
preferences,
ranging from
history and news
to celebrity
interview and
culture shows.
Gender non-
conforming
listeners tend to
seek out more niche
shows.

Top 10 favorited shows (2019)
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101
New and Old Listeners’ Favorites
CONTENT
*"New listeners" are users who've been listening for less than 1 year.
12
New
listeners*
1–2-year
listeners
The top shows
for new podcast
listeners lean
heavily in the true
crime category.
True crime
may be a popular
entry point for new
listeners.
True crime
was also a very
popular genre
for listeners with
1-2 years of
listening history.
True crime shows win as a top favorite among new-to-podcasting listeners.

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101
New and Old Listener Favorites, Continued
CONTENT
13
3–4-year
listeners
5+-year
listeners
Users who said
they had been listening
to podcasts for 3–4
years also listened to
a lot of true crime,
however there were
more top shows in the
news/talk categories
such as This American
Life and Armchair Expert
with Dax Shepard.
Five+-year listeners
have more varied tastes
in podcasts with several
different genres
showing up in their
top 50.
Longtime listeners mix it up.

21.8M hours
19.6M hours
18.5M hours
17.4M hours
True
Crime
Comedy
News
&
Politics
Society &
Culture
Sports
9.2M hours
3.6M hours
2.7M hours
5M hours
42%
18%
14%
29%
0.9M hours
10M hours
Pop
Culture
2.9M hours
9.2M hours
32%
BINGE LISTEN:
When a user listens to at least
90% of three episodes of one
show in a day.
Binge Listening By Genre
Total listening hours
Binge listening hours
Total listening vs. binge listening by genre
LISTENING TIME
GENRE
CONTENT
14
Some genres are binged (a lot) more than others.
Total 2019 binge
listening across
all genres:
34 million hours
9%

Top 20 Podcasts by Binging Hours (2019)
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
CONTENT
15

2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 101
12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 2011
Top 20 Mini-Series (2019)*
Mini-series:
A show that has released 2–12 episodes.
*By number of unique listeners.
CONTENT
16
14.4% of the top
1,000 shows
were mini-series
in 2019.
The number
of mini-series
podcasts grew
from 4 in 2010
to more than 52,000
in 10 years.

The average
episode length has
shortened
from 51.8 minutes
in 2013 to 49.4
minutes in 2019.
Episode lengths
peak at 30-minute
and 60-minute
shows.
In 2019, the
episode length
outliers got more
extreme — in other
words, there are
more very long
shows.
Episode duration data from the top 25% of shows based on number of users.
Average Episode Length (2013-2019)
CONTENT
Distribution of average episode length per show
Yearpublished
Duration in minutes
17
Shows are getting (just a little) shorter.

CONTENT
Highs and Lows in Episode Lengths
EpisodeLengthinMinutes
Episode length by genre (2013-2019)
Year published
18
Reported or
scripted shows
(news, business,
science &
medicine) tend to
be shorter.
Chat-based shows
(pop culture,
comedy, games &
hobbies) are
longer.

Where Listeners Gather
CONTENT
Number of listeners by genre* (2017-2019)
*Podcast publishers self-identify categories when they publish shows.
Listeners
19
Fastest-growing genres by number of listeners
among genres with more than 500K listeners.
Fastest-growing genres by number of listeners
among genres with less than 500K listeners.

Genres on the Rise
CONTENT
Number of shows by genre (2017-2019)
*True Crime is a sub-set of shows categorized by Stitcher.
*
Fastest-growing genres
by number of shows.
20

21
Business
1. Planet Money
2. How I Built This with Guy Raz
3. The Indicator from Planet Money
4. The Dave Ramsey Show
5. The Relentless: It’s Time to Look at
Success Differently
Comedy
1. The Joe Rogan Experience
2. Conan O’Brien Needs A Friend
3. Armchair Expert with Dax Shepard
4. WTF with Marc Maron Podcast
5. How Did This Get Made?
Education
1. Stuff You Should Know
2. TED Talks Daily
3. Every Little Thing
4. Ologies with Alie Ward
5. The Wild
Games & Hobbies
1. Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me!
2. Ask Me Another
3. Wizard and the Bruiser
4. Not Another D&D Podcast
5. Giant Bombcast
Kids & Family
1. How to Raise a Parent
2. The Longest Shortest Time
3. Motherhood Sessions
4. Wow in the World
5. Josie & Jonny Are Having a Baby
(With You!)
Science & Medicine
1. Radiolab
2. Hidden Brain
3. Revisionist History
4. Science Vs
5. Overheard at National Geographic
Society & Culture
1. This American Life
2. Freakonomics Radio (Stitcher Exclusive)
3. TED Radio Hour
4. Fresh Air
5. The Clearing
Sports
1. The Bill Simmons Podcast
2. Fantasy Footballers - Fantasy Football
Podcast
3. 30 For 30 Podcasts
4. The Fighter & The Kid
5. Throwback
Storytelling
1. The Moth
2. Invisibilia
3. Snap Judgment
4. Myths and Legends
5. RISK!
True Crime
1. My Favorite Murder with Karen Kilgariff
and Georgia Hardstark
2. True Crime Garage
3. Serial
4. Casefile True Crime
5. Last Podcast On The Left
Lifestyle & Health
1. The Tim Ferriss Show
2. Ear Hustle
3. Happier with Gretchen Rubin
4. The Sporkful
5. Better at Everything
Music & Commentary
1. Dolly Parton's America
2. Song Exploder
3. Bizarre Albums
4. Broken Record with Rick Rubin, Malcolm
Gladwell, Bruce Headlam and Justin
Richmond
5. Punch Up The Jam
News & Politics
1. The Daily
2. Pod Save America
3. Today, Explained
4. Up First
5. The Rachel Maddow Show
Pop Culture, TV & Film
1. The Chernobyl Podcast
2. Stuff They Don't Want You To Know
3. Headlong: Running from COPS
4. Pop Culture Happy Hour
5. The Killing of JonBenet: The Final Suspects
Religion & Spirituality
1. Tara Brach
2. Haunted Places
3. The Astro Poets Podcast
4. The Science of Happiness
5. Joyce Meyer Radio Podcast
CONTENT
Top 5
Podcasts
in Each
Genre
Ranked by number of
listeners in 2019

Listening BehaviorC H A P T E R T W O

In this chapter, we’ve analyzed a decade of podcast listening behavior collected from the Stitcher App.
During that time, every metric we measure has grown as the medium of podcasting has moved into the
mainstream. A real spike in listening hours started in 2017, which correlates with overall user growth, but
listening hours per user has also seen a dramatic increase over the decade. Even so, a dedicated subset of
“power listeners” drives a majority of listening hours.
Here, you’ll find data that reveal when people listen to podcasts and get a first-ever look into binge
listening and grazing behaviors, as well as learn differences between new and long-time users and light
and heavy listeners.
Listening hours are on the rise as
users integrate podcasts into
weekday routines.
LISTENING BEHAVIOR
23

LISTENING BEHAVIOR
24
Peak listening periods are on weekdays.
• Listening peaks Monday through Thursday, dips on Friday and declines over the weekend.
• Listening distribution is fairly consistent throughout regular waking hours, with slight peaks in the
morning and late afternoon.
• Listening declines over major holidays.
Binging isn’t just for TV.
• In the last two years, the number of hours binged has more than tripled, and the number of users who
binge listen has doubled.
New listeners behave differently than long-time listeners.
• Long-time listeners have established show and genre preferences.
• New listeners are more likely to “graze” different shows.
“Grazing” is not an insignificant listening habit.
• Even with messaging across the industry to “subscribe” or “favorite,” 21% of Stitcher listeners choose to
graze episodes instead.
• New listeners graze more than long-time listeners.
Key Listening Behavior Findings

Listening on the Up (and Up)!
LISTENING BEHAVIOR
Monthly listening hours per listener (2009-2019)
Hourslistened
Average
Median
Hourslistened
Total hours listened (2009-2019)
200 M
150 M
100M
50M
2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
50%
49%
26%
12%
% Indicates year-over-year growth
25

LISTENING BEHAVIOR
Hourslistened/week(avg.)
% of users
% of total listening hours
Listening time by user group (2019)
Hourslistened/week(avg.)
*Note: To count as a “listen” in this case, users must have
listened to at least 50% of the episode.
Shows listened* per user group (2019)
Median
Average
Power Listeners vs. Average Users
Some podcast fans are truly dedicated, racking up 10 hours of listening time or more every week.
26
Less than 10% of users account for 57% of all listening time.
All users
10+ hr
5-10 hr
1-5 hr
<1 hr

Daytime is Podcast Time
LISTENING BEHAVIOR
Average users per hour (2019)
27
Hours with the
most listeners
on average:
8 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Listening
volume is lower
on Fridays,
nights and
weekends.

Listening Peaks and Valleys
LISTENING BEHAVIOR
Average hours listened per day of week (2019)
Averagelisteninghours
Averagelisteninghours
Total hours listened on average by local time of day (2019)
28
Peak listening days: Monday-Thursday
Listening dips on the weekends.

Note: Results reflect the top 25th percentile of shows and only include
episodes published in 2019 with at least 500 listens.
Podcast Listeners Finish
What They Start
LISTENING BEHAVIOR
Completion rate:
The percentage of an
episode that was
listened to.
Even as listening time goes up,
podcast listeners finish most of
their episodes.
Average completion rate and episode duration (2019)
29
Average completion rate
% % % %

Holiday Weeks Are for Podcast Breaks
LISTENING BEHAVIOR
Weekly listening hours (2018-2019)
Millionsoflisteninghours
Mar ’18 Jun ’18 Sep ’18 Dec ’18 Mar ’19 Jun ’19 Sep ’19 Dec ’19 Mar ’20
The rest of the weeks are for podcasts.
30
Listening hours
dip during holiday
periods.
The 2019 winter
holiday week saw
a 24% decrease in
listening hours
compared to the
previous week.

Binge Listening Habits
LISTENING BEHAVIOR
Binge listen:
When a user listens to at least 90% of three episodes of one show in one day. Excludes
episodes less than one-minute.
Bingeusers
Binge users by day of week
Average in 2019
Binging hours by year
Millionsofhours
31
Work hours
are the most
popular
“binging” hours.
In the last
two years,
the number of
hours binged has
more than tripled,
and the number of
binging users has
doubled.
Binging has increased and is happening mostly during work hours.

New Listeners Graze for Fresh Content
LISTENING BEHAVIOR
Grazers:
Users who click to listen to an episode but haven’t subscribed to or “favorited” the show.
Percentageofusersgrazing
Grazing behavior (2019)
Years listening to podcasts
32
The average
grazing rate
for all users
is 15.7%.
Grazing behavior
declines the
longer users
listen. This makes
sense as “older”
listeners tend to
have more
established
listening habits
and tastes.

The Stitcher ListenerC H A P T E R T H R E E
00

As the podcast industry grows, more people are listening. But who are they, where do they live and what do they
like? We’ve answered these questions by analyzing data collected from the Stitcher App cross-referenced with
self-reported PodSurvey data. Many of our findings reflect the existing industry knowledge about podcast
listeners, but there are also some surprises here.
In this chapter, you’ll find a state-by-state breakdown of users and listening hours and see how some of the top
shows differ by state. We also dive into the demographics of our listeners and how they behave.
Differences emerge in listening preferences by
age, sex, state and more.
THE STITCHER LISTENER
34

35
Some states carry more listening weight.
• The rankings of podcast listeners and listening hours by state don’t entirely line up with population rankings.
For example, Washington ranks No. 4 for listening hours, but ranks 13th in population. Illinois beats Florida in
listening hours despite having fewer people. Washington, D.C. also listens more from a population
perspective.
Place matters.
• This American Life is the most popular show in many coastal states.
• The Joe Rogan Experience comes out on top in the middle of the country.
• Shows that dive into local crimes rank high in the states where they happen, like Crimetown in Rhode Island
and Bardstown in Kentucky.
Younger people are more likely to listen, but older groups listen more.
• The 18–34 age group makes up the biggest group of listeners, but the 35–55 age group listens to more hours
per user and favorites more shows.
Women are committers.
• Men and women listen for about the same amount of hours per week.
• Women favorite more shows and listen to more shows per week on average than men.
Key Findings About Stitcher Listeners

Big States, Big Listening
Percent of total Stitcher users by state (2019)
36
Washington, Illinois
and Massachusetts
have a higher
density of Stitcher
listeners when
compared to their
overall percentage
of the population.
Alaska, Delaware
and Wyoming
are tied for
the smallest
percentage
of total users.
.02%
11.4%
% of users

Pod-to-Pod Showdown: Joe vs. Ira
The Joe Rogan Experience and Ira Glass’ This American Life have topped the charts nationwide for years, but
each eke out an advantage based on geography.
No. 1 podcast by state* (2019)
The Joe Rogan
Experience and This
American Life came
in No. 1 and No. 2 in
every state except
for these outliers:
Maryland, New York
Washington, D.C.: The
Daily is
No. 2.
Arkansas, Mississippi:
True Crime Garage is
No. 2.
Washington, D.C.:
The Joe Rogan
Experience didn’t make
the top 5.
*Ranked by number of unique listeners.
Source: Stitcher App data. 37
The Joe Rogan Experience
This American Life
Cold (UTAH)
Most popular show

*Includes Washington DC and Puerto Rico.
Place Matters
These place-based shows are more popular in
their home states than in other states.
Rhode Island New
Hampshire
Kentucky Mississippi
Shows that dive into local crime are popular in their home states. And popular
shows and genres dominate search terms across states.
Times appeared in
Search term top 5 search terms
by state*
Serial 52
Joe Rogan 51
True Crime 46
NPR 36
Dr. Phil 19
38
Top 5 search terms across states

While both genders listen for roughly the same
amount of hours, women favorite more shows
and fit in more shows per week.
Women Are More Engaged
*Favorite: A show that a user clicks to add to their
“Favorites” within the Stitcher App. New episodes
download automatically.
Female
Male
Non-conforming
Stitcher audience by gender
Source: 2019 PodSurvey/Stitcher App data.
Average number of shows listened per week
Average number of shows listened
Gender
Gender
Average total favorites* by gender
Average total favorites
39
The average
hours listened
per week
are about the
same across
genders: 10

Generational Divides
18–34
35–55
56+
Younger listeners outnumber older ones, but the 35–55 age group favorites
more shows and listens longer.
Source: 2019
PodSurvey/ Stitcher App data.
Stitcher audience
by age
Avg. hours Median hours
40
Average total
favorites* by age
Avg. total favorites
Age
*Favorite: A show that a user clicks to add to their “Favorites” within
the Stitcher App. New episodes download automatically.
56+
Hours listened per week
Age
Hours
56+
Average number of shows
listened per week
Avg. number of shows listened
Age
56+

41
Stitcher is the best place to listen to, produce and monetize podcasts. The Stitcher app, available for iOS and Android devices, is one of the
world's most popular podcast listening platforms, with a growing network of original content and a premium subscription service. Stitcher is
the parent company of Midroll Media, the leading podcast advertising network representing over 200 of the world's largest podcasts, and
top-ranked comedy podcast network Earwolf. With offices in Los Angeles, New York City and San Francisco, Stitcher was founded in 2007 and
is a wholly owned subsidiary of The E.W. Scripps Company (NASDAQ: SSP).
SPECIAL THANKS TO:
Sarah Breitenother
Amy Fitzgibbons
Jodi George
Asa Jordan
Amy Leibrock
Cameron Maher
Paul Riismandel

The Stitcher Podcasting Report

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to The Stitcher Podcasting Report

Recently uploaded

The Stitcher Podcasting Report