US adults have been spending over an hour per day on digital audio since 2016, and this trend is expected to continue with an additional three minutes of daily consumption in 2022, reaching 1 hour and 40 minutes. Active digital audio listeners are spending 2 hours and 17 minutes per day on this medium.
Compared to other digital options, digital audio has a significant share of 20.3% within digital media time and 12.7% of overall media time. In fact, US adults spend more time listening to digital audio than watching sub OTT services, using social networks, using tablets, or watching videos on their smartphones. It’s popular because it’s easy to multitask while listening.
Within digital audio, podcasts are experiencing the most significant growth. US adults will spend just over 23 minutes per day listening to podcasts in 2022, a 15.0% increase from last year, accounting for 23.1% of their total digital audio time. Among podcast listeners, time spent with podcasts will reach nearly 53 minutes per day.
In summary, digital audio consumption continues to rise, and podcasts are the standout subcategory in this category. Optimizing your content for digital audio and podcasts can help you reach a broader audience.
