Podcast Survey 2023: The results are in

Are you looking for the latest numbers and insights into the world of podcasting? You’ve come to the right place! We at Podstars proudly present the findings of our newest representative report: Our Podcast Survey 2023. In the spring of this year, we surveyed over 2,500 German-speaking podcast listeners. We inquired about their listener profiles, consumption patterns, and their attitudes towards podcast advertising. On top of that, we also asked podcast fans about their familiarity with branded podcasts to assess the impact and performance of the format in Germany. 

We are happy to share that this year’s results paint a promising picture – once again: Podcasts have established themselves as an even more popular medium among German-speaking listeners over the course of the past year. They are catching on amid a broader demographic group in terms of age and gender, with older listeners even growing their share by around 10 percent compared to 2022. Another key finding from our survey: 63 percent of listeners consume podcasts daily, whereas this share stood at around 58 percent in the previous year and at only 46 percent in 2018.
You can find the results of our Podcast Survey 2022 (in German) here.  

Podcasts have also proven to be much more than just a hype medium. Nearly 50 percent of respondents have been listening to podcasts for at least three years now. When asked about the leading motivators for listening to podcasts, the lion’s share of listeners mentioned information, education, and entertainment.

Podcasts have long evolved from a niche medium. Their intensity of use continues to grow steadily: 63 percent of listeners listen to podcasts daily, representing an increase of around five percent compared to 2022.

(How) can we interest you in a new podcast?

Let’s look at podcast discovery: 67 percent of surveyed listeners stated that they learn about new podcasts from friends. Another popular avenue for podcast discovery are (ad) recommendations within other podcasts: Roughly 47 percent of listeners become aware of new podcasts while listening to other shows. Our survey also found that social media plays an important role in the listener journey: 67 percent of listeners confirmed that their favorite podcasts have their own Instagram accounts. This finding once again highlights that an Instagram profile can serve as a coherent extension to a podcast while also helping to establish deeper connections and boost interaction with a show’s community. 

Acceptance of podcast advertising remains consistently high

Podcasts and advertising are a perfect match: 92 percent of listeners accept podcast ads so that podcast content can remain free of charge. Native host-read ads remain the most popular type of ad format among listeners. Another interesting finding is that 75 percent of listeners have discovered new brands with the help of podcast ads. This percentage emphasizes the benefits of podcasts as brand awareness boosters and as a perfect addition to any marketing mix.

Branded podcasts are also making themselves heard in 2023: Some 35 percent of podcast listeners already listen to branded podcasts, while another 37 percent are open to listening to one in the future. When asked about their preferences in more detail, 85 percent of listeners stated that branded podcasts most commonly pique their interest when they cover a topic that is relevant to them. Around 44 percent of respondents also appreciate branded podcasts that are hosted by someone they like or are at least familiar with.

That’s it for our bite-size preview of the report. Have we sparked your interest in the whole meal? (And one more thing: If you’re looking for the German version of the report, check out our other article here.) Enjoy!

Find more exciting insights in our Podcast Survey 2023

Sign up here to download our entire report and stay up to date with the latest trends across the German podcast landscape. We hope that our insights can help you assess the market in order to make informed decisions and improve your podcasts and marketing activities.