Podcast listening has reached a zenith— thanks to millennials

Podcasts, once a niche category, continue to surge in popularity thanks to millennials who are listening to audio programs on the go.

The number of people using mobile apps to discover and listen to podcasts increased 60% compared with January 2018, according to data released Wednesday by Adobe Analytics. People ages 25 to 34, known as millennials, were a key driver of the growth, with about one-third of millennial podcast listeners consuming at least five podcasts a week, Adobe said.

“There’s not only a massive trend towards adoption of podcasts, but the amount of podcasts per person is actually quite high,” said Colin Morris, director, product management with Adobe Analytics. “That shows there is a lot of opportunity.”

Adobe Analytics, which is part of San Jose-based software company Adobe Inc., based its findings on a survey of about 1,000 U.S. adult podcast and audio book listeners and Comscore data. About half of the people surveyed said they listen to podcasts on their way to work or while they work. The most preferred type of podcast was comedy and humor (46%), followed by educational (28%), history (27%) and true crime or crime documentary (26%), according to Adobe Analytics.