Three stats to know before the release of the Latino Podcast Listener Report

by Gabriel Soto, Manager of Research

When it comes to Latinos, there is no shortage of audio consumption among our community. As we are about to see, the same is true for podcast listening. The irony, however, is in the shortage of resources available to the Latino podcasting market. This strong consumption — paired with a lack of research – merits a formal look into the podcast listening terrains of the Latino listening world. This is exactly one reason why we have teamed up with leaders in the audio space to conduct a study that will provide insights into the podcast listeners and non-listeners of our often simplified, but truly complex, ethnic group. But before we visit those terrains on June 30th, 2020, here are three statistics that demonstrate where podcast listening even stands for Latinos. 

To analyze these three listening habits that will help us contextualize podcast listening among our community of 60 million people (U.S. Census 2018 ACS Estimate) we utilize Edison Research’s Share of Ear®, a quarterly updated study that comprehensively measures daily listening in the audio space. 

The following data compares two groups, the U.S. general population ages 13+ (which includes U.S Latinos ages 13+) and a subgroup derived from the first, composed of only U.S. Latinos 13+. The term U.S. Latino refers to anyone who identified as Hispanic or Latino in the Share of Ear study. Data reflects Q1 2020 before COVID-19 disruption if any. 

1. On average, U.S. Latinos spend more time with audio each day than the U.S. population 

How much time do Latinos spend listening to audio? How big is our audio world? On average, Latinos listen to an astounding 44 more minutes of audio per day than the general population. The latter spends an average of 3 hours and 53 minutes daily with the medium, while that number skyrockets to 4 hours and 34 minutes if we only look at listening time among Latinos. In this sense, the Latino hourglass is bigger. The figure reveals the mountain of Latino audio listening and its influence on the audio market. It also indicates that Latinos have more time for all forms of audio like music and spoken word (e.g., podcasts).  

2. Latinos allocate their audio time to music vs. spoken-word audio similarly to the general population 

On our way toward examining the podcast terrains of the U.S. Latino listener, we pass by a view of music vs. spoken word audio. For a section of the audio world that has lost some ground to spoken word since 2014, music still accounts for an overwhelming 77% share for the U.S. population, leaving the remaining 23% of the listening to spoken word audio, which includes media like talk radio, news podcasts, and audiobooks—to name a few. This split is similar when we isolate those who identify as Hispanic or Latino: over four-fifths (81%) of audio listening time goes to music while just under one-fifth (19%) goes to spoken word audio. Now although a smaller proportion of Latino audio listening goes to spoken word audio, we have to remember that Latinos spend more time with audio to begin with, so the average time spent listening to spoken word daily manages to equal what the overall population spends with this form of audio. Only by climbing this area of the Latino audio mountain can we see a clearer picture of where podcast listening stands. 

3. On average, U.S. Latinos spend more time with podcasts each day than the U.S. population 

Taking only spoken word audio listening, in others words, removing music from the equation, the U.S. total population spends about 18% of that time with podcasts. When we flip to Latinos, the proportion of this time spent with podcasts is about 22% larger, with over one-fifth (22%) of spoken word audio listening dedicated to the booming platform. 

These numbers show that Latinos retain a relatively robust listening to podcasts – and more broadly – to audio overall. It is about time to begin exploring and embracing it.

The paradox is that Latinos invest more of their time listening to podcasts than the general U.S. population, yet investment in the Latino podcast market is thin. Imagine the potential if the podcast industry were growing and if the Latino population were growing too – oh wait, that is happening. So, for those looking to be a part of it – click here to find out more information about the upcoming U.S. Latino Podcast Listening Report.