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Research Firm Says Podcasts Have Passed AM/FM Talk Radio in Spoken-Word Listening Time
Edison Research:
In 2015, AM/FM radio accounted for 75% of the time Americans spent
with spoken-word audio sources. AM/FM radio was not only the most
dominant spoken-word audio listening platform, but it was fully
sixty-five percentage points higher than podcasts, which accounted
for 10% of listening time back then. Quarter by quarter and year
over year, time spent using AM/FM radio to listen to spoken-word
audio has declined significantly and shifted to time spent with
podcasts. As of Q4 2025, 40% of time spent listening to
spoken-word is now spent with podcasts and 39% of time is spent
with AM/FM radio. Not only does radio not beat podcasts by a
significant margin, it now trails the on-demand platform for
spoken-word audio listening.
Most of you reading this on Daring Fireball are surely thinking what I thought when I saw this (via TechCrunch): This only happened in 2025? But it goes to show just how long it takes for media consumption habits, in the aggregate, to change.
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Weekly Insights · February 24, 2026
Podcasts Lead AM/FM in Spoken-Word Listening, Marking a First
By Edison Research
This post is from Edison’s Weekly Insights email. Subscribe here.
Spoken-word audio platforms play an important part in how Americans 13+ spend their day with audio, accounting for 25% of all daily time spent with audio. Share of Ear® from Edison Research is the only audio measurement source that captures how much time Americans spend listening to spoken-word audio sources as well as the platforms they use to do so. This week’s insight focuses on a historic change in how Americans 13+ listen to spoken-word audio daily.
In 2015, AM/FM radio accounted for 75% of the time Americans spent with spoken-word audio sources. AM/FM radio was not only the most dominant spoken-word audio listening platform, but it was fully sixty-five percentage points higher than podcasts, which accounted for 10% of listening time back then. Quarter by quarter and year over year, time spent using AM/FM radio to listen to spoken-word audio has declined significantly and shifted to time spent with podcasts. As of Q4 2025, 40% of time spent listening to spoken-word is now spent with podcasts and 39% of time is spent with AM/FM radio. Not only does radio not beat podcasts by a significant margin, it now trails the on-demand platform for spoken-word audio listening.
Spoken-word audio has changed dramatically over the past ten years. Consumers now listen using different platforms, devices, and services to engage with spoken-word audio. In addition to capturing how Americans are currently engaging with audio, Share of Ear® also illustrates the seismic changes that occurred in the audio landscape. Contact our team today to learn more about a subscription.