Podcasts surpass AM/FM talk radio in U.S. for first time, Edison Research find

"For the first time in history, podcasts have overtaken talk radio as the most-listened-to medium for spoken-word audio in the United States. Podcasts, including video podcasts, eclipsed AM/FM talk radio with 40% of listening time, as opposed to 39% for radio, according to Edison Research's Share of Ear survey."

"In 2015, AM/FM radio accounted for 75% of the time Americans spent listening to spoken-word audio. At the time, podcasts accounted for just 10%. Year over year, that gap has slowly closed, as podcasts boomed in popularity, increasingly keeping us company on daily commutes and during menial tasks."

"Over half of Americans, 55%—an estimated 158 million people—listen to a podcast monthly, and 40%, or 115 million, listen every week. Watching podcasts has become a growing trend over the past year, perhaps shifting the balance in podcasts' favor. YouTube said viewers watched 700 million hours of podcasts each month in 2025 on living room devices like TVs, up from 400 million the previous year."

Podcasts have officially overtaken AM/FM talk radio as America's primary spoken-word audio medium, marking a historic shift in media consumption. Edison Research's Share of Ear survey shows podcasts now account for 40% of listening time versus 39% for radio. This represents a dramatic reversal from 2015, when radio dominated with 75% of spoken-word audio listening while podcasts held only 10%. The gap has steadily narrowed over the past decade as podcast popularity surged. Currently, 55% of Americans listen to podcasts monthly, with 40% listening weekly. Video podcasts have contributed to this shift, with YouTube reporting 700 million monthly viewing hours on living room devices in 2025, up from 400 million the previous year.

Read at Fast Company