Weekly podcast consumers rate podcast hosts as more influential than any other media figure, including social media influencers, according to the sixteenth edition of Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights’ “Podcast Download” report. Asked whose influence matters most to them, 52% of weekly respondents named podcast hosts, more than double the 24% who pointed to social media influencers. TV and movie celebrities drew 15%, and AM/FM radio hosts drew 10%.
The report, based on a Quantilope survey of 600 nationally representative weekly podcast consumers fielded April 21 to 27, 2026, also tracks continued advertiser migration into the category. In a companion “Advertiser Perceptions” study, the share of agencies and advertisers who currently advertise in podcasts reached 76% in June 2026, up from 15% in September 2015 and 61% as recently as 2021.
YouTube Holds the Platform Lead for a Fourth Year
YouTube remains the single most-used platform for podcast consumption, cited by 44% of weekly podcast consumers as their top platform, ahead of Spotify at 14% and Apple Podcasts at 11%. Two independent measurement studies point in the same direction: Triton Digital’s Podcast Metrics Demos+ puts YouTube’s most-used share at 40% for Q1 2026, and Edison Research’s “Share of Ear” puts YouTube’s share of daily podcast listening time at 37%, both ahead of Spotify. Cumulus and Signal Hill also find YouTube capturing 65% of the minutes consumers spend with the podcast they listen to most, versus 25% for Spotify and 10% for Apple Podcasts.
YouTube’s lead holds across audience segments. It is the top platform for 37% of Podcast Newcomers, defined as those who started listening in the past year, and for 46% of both Podcast Pioneers, who have listened for four or more years, and heavy consumers who log six or more hours a week.
The platform’s dominance extends to discovery. Among weekly consumers who started a new podcast in the past six months, YouTube was the most common place they began listening, ahead of every other app or platform named in the study. Despite that reach, the report finds no lock-in effect: 67% of weekly podcast consumers who have watched podcasts on YouTube say they would switch platforms if a podcast became exclusive to another app, and 58% say they already listen to the same podcast elsewhere.
Video Preference and Smart TV Use Both Climb
The report describes “watchable podcasts” as reaching a new high, with more consumers than ever preferring podcasts with a video component they can actively watch or minimize in the background, over audio-only listening. Smart TV use for podcast consumption grew to 38% of weekly consumers in April 2026, up from 35% in October 2025 and 32% a year earlier, a 19% increase over twelve months. Despite that shift, the report notes that video remains a secondary mode overall: 92% of weekly consumers say they listened to podcasts in the past week, versus 8% who say they only watched, a split that has held roughly steady since podcast watching was first tracked in the survey in April 2022.
Netflix, which added podcasts to its platform in January 2026, has built awareness quickly: 62% of weekly consumers already know podcasts are available there.
Newcomers Consume Nearly as Much as Veterans
The report finds that Podcast Newcomers, those listening for a year or less, consume nearly as many episodes per week as Podcast Pioneers who have listened for four-plus years, a gap the report frames as evidence that new listeners convert quickly into habitual ones rather than sampling casually.
Indie podcasts, defined in the study as podcasts without major producer or celebrity backing, account for roughly a third of listening time among weekly consumers, at 35%. That share rises to 39% among listeners aged 18 to 34, compared with 34% for those 35 to 49 and 29% for those 50 and older.
The report also finds podcast listening is largely a solitary activity: weekly consumers say they spend 82% of their podcast time listening alone, versus 18% with others, and heavy consumers report an even higher solo share at 83%.
Image source: “Sixteenth edition of the Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights’ Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report” The full report is available here
Dragomir is a Serbian freelance blog writer and translator. He is passionate about covering insightful stories and exploring topics such as influencer marketing, the creator economy, technology, business, and cyber fraud.
Weekly podcast consumers rate podcast hosts as more influential than any other media figure, including social media influencers, according to the sixteenth edition of Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights’ “Podcast Download” report. Asked whose influence matters most to them, 52% of weekly respondents named podcast hosts, more than double the 24% who pointed to social media influencers. TV and movie celebrities drew 15%, and AM/FM radio hosts drew 10%.
The report, based on a Quantilope survey of 600 nationally representative weekly podcast consumers fielded April 21 to 27, 2026, also tracks continued advertiser migration into the category. In a companion “Advertiser Perceptions” study, the share of agencies and advertisers who currently advertise in podcasts reached 76% in June 2026, up from 15% in September 2015 and 61% as recently as 2021.
YouTube Holds the Platform Lead for a Fourth Year
YouTube remains the single most-used platform for podcast consumption, cited by 44% of weekly podcast consumers as their top platform, ahead of Spotify at 14% and Apple Podcasts at 11%. Two independent measurement studies point in the same direction: Triton Digital’s Podcast Metrics Demos+ puts YouTube’s most-used share at 40% for Q1 2026, and Edison Research’s “Share of Ear” puts YouTube’s share of daily podcast listening time at 37%, both ahead of Spotify. Cumulus and Signal Hill also find YouTube capturing 65% of the minutes consumers spend with the podcast they listen to most, versus 25% for Spotify and 10% for Apple Podcasts.
YouTube’s lead holds across audience segments. It is the top platform for 37% of Podcast Newcomers, defined as those who started listening in the past year, and for 46% of both Podcast Pioneers, who have listened for four or more years, and heavy consumers who log six or more hours a week.
The platform’s dominance extends to discovery. Among weekly consumers who started a new podcast in the past six months, YouTube was the most common place they began listening, ahead of every other app or platform named in the study. Despite that reach, the report finds no lock-in effect: 67% of weekly podcast consumers who have watched podcasts on YouTube say they would switch platforms if a podcast became exclusive to another app, and 58% say they already listen to the same podcast elsewhere.
Video Preference and Smart TV Use Both Climb
The report describes “watchable podcasts” as reaching a new high, with more consumers than ever preferring podcasts with a video component they can actively watch or minimize in the background, over audio-only listening. Smart TV use for podcast consumption grew to 38% of weekly consumers in April 2026, up from 35% in October 2025 and 32% a year earlier, a 19% increase over twelve months. Despite that shift, the report notes that video remains a secondary mode overall: 92% of weekly consumers say they listened to podcasts in the past week, versus 8% who say they only watched, a split that has held roughly steady since podcast watching was first tracked in the survey in April 2022.
Netflix, which added podcasts to its platform in January 2026, has built awareness quickly: 62% of weekly consumers already know podcasts are available there.
Newcomers Consume Nearly as Much as Veterans
The report finds that Podcast Newcomers, those listening for a year or less, consume nearly as many episodes per week as Podcast Pioneers who have listened for four-plus years, a gap the report frames as evidence that new listeners convert quickly into habitual ones rather than sampling casually.
Indie podcasts, defined in the study as podcasts without major producer or celebrity backing, account for roughly a third of listening time among weekly consumers, at 35%. That share rises to 39% among listeners aged 18 to 34, compared with 34% for those 35 to 49 and 29% for those 50 and older.
The report also finds podcast listening is largely a solitary activity: weekly consumers say they spend 82% of their podcast time listening alone, versus 18% with others, and heavy consumers report an even higher solo share at 83%.
Image source: “Sixteenth edition of the Cumulus Media and Signal Hill Insights’ Podcast Download – Spring 2026 Report”
The full report is available here
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