Some 20 years after its humble beginnings, podcasting continues to grow in both audience consumption and ad dollars. One reason the medium remains an advertiser darling is that it skews significantly younger than any other major media platform. According to an analysis conducted by Amplifi Media founder & CEO Steve Goldstein, the median age of podcast listeners is a youthful 34. That is nearly three decades younger than the median age of TV and newspaper audiences.
A demographic comparison of the big media platforms offers some eyebrow-raising stats: The median age of linear primetime TV viewers in the U.S. is now 64.6 years old. That means half the viewers are older than 64.6, a far cry from TV’s long-time sweet spot of adults 18-49, Goldstein writes in a new blog post, citing data from Nielsen, MRI, Edison Research and Signal Hill. Cable news skews even older with a median age of 70. Newspapers clock in at 60, talk radio at 58, and magazines at 52.
“For years, media executives built their pitches to advertisers around the idea that they could reach younger audiences,” The Wall Street Journal reported. “But there is a hard reality these days: Most people watching TV are older than those groups.”
While news/talk remains broadcast radio’s most listened to format, continuing to command a double-digit share of all AM/FM listening, its audience is aging. According to Nielsen, its median age is 58. And although the larger, all-encompassing audio category of spoken word has grown substantially in the past 10 years, according to an Edison/NPR study, much of the listening has moved from broadcast to podcast, especially among younger demos.
That has Goldstein heralding podcasting as “the fountain of youth.” Advertisers have historically followed the audience and podcasting is no exception. “The podcast story is remarkably compelling,” he writes. “It offers a unique opportunity for brands to reach hard-to-find younger listeners with targeted, compelling content. Several recent studies show that podcast ads and sponsored content feel more personal and less intrusive than traditional media, many of which are saturated with ads.”
The rise of podcasting is part of a shift to on-demand content consumption that aligns with the lifestyles and preferences of younger generations, Goldstein points out. And the medium offers three not-so-secret ingredients – “intimacy, flexibility and loyalty, which makes podcasting an ideal platform for engaging storytelling, niche topics, and fresh takes.”
Read Goldstein’s complete essay HERE.
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