An impressive 48% of listeners have purchased at least one product advertised in a podcast in the past year. And 76% can recall at least one advertised product, according to The Power of Podcasts, a study from Voices, conducted by Momentive.

In addition, 73% have listened to a podcast in the past 12 months. They listen for entertainment (62%), to stay up to date (54%) and to pass the time (48%). 

Listeners devote the following number of hours per week to podcasts: 

• 1-3 hours—47.80% 
  
• 4-6 hours—23/65% 
  
• 7-9 hours—13% 
  
• 13-15 hours—3.21% 
  
• 16+ hours—3.63% 

Of those surveyed, 51.44% listen to one to three different podcasts per month, 29.65% take in four to six, 12.57 seven to nine and 6.25% 10+. 

The content they prefer varies by gender and age. 

The study found that 72% of sports/fitness listeners are male and that 66% of true crime fans are female. And 44% of those over age 60 like news and political podcasts.  

However, comedy is the most popular podcast form, with 42% saying they are listeners. 

Listeners also like engaging personalities—37% will return if they enjoy the host.  

In addition, 62% of listeners follow their favorite host or shows on social media. Another 31% say they have discovered podcasts via social media. 

Podcast fans also have advertising preferences: 34.63% prefer ads read by the podcast host and 21.37% those that are advertiser-produced ads. And 44% have no preference. 

Momentive surveyed 1,183 U.S. consumers from July 12-14, 2023.

Almost three fourths of consumers have listened to a podcast in the last 12 months, Voices reports.