It's no secret that consumer interest in podcasts is exploding. With so much attention focused on this media format, advertisers are taking notice. A new Nielsen report describes who’s listening to which type of podcast and how to match your advertisers with these audiences.

Podcast Fans

Nielsen analysts classified the U.S. adults podcast audience in casual or avid fans. To be considered avid, respondents indicated an “interest level of 6 of 7 on a 7‑point scale.” With 37M fans falling into the avid category, the music podcast genre is tops in terms of sheer size. When added to the 24.1M households who listen to music podcasts, the total audience is 61.1M households. Here are the other top categories in terms of total households:

• TV & Movies 60.5M
• Comedy 59.9M
• Technology 58.9M
• Games & Hobbies 52.5M
• Health & Living 57.2M

Podcast Listener Purchases

Consumers are also interested in the business podcast genre. Over 52M households listen to these podcasts, with 24% falling into the avid fan category. If your clients are selling liquor, wine, household cleaners or soap/​bath products, talk to them about advertising on your business podcast. Avid fans business podcasts spend more money on these products than the national average.

The Kids & Family podcast genre attracts about 58.7M listeners regularly. And, about 39% of these folks are avid fans. Could they be listening late at night when they’re up with their newborn babies? That theory seems likely as these folks spend 26% more than average on baby food. They also over-​index for purchases of candy and cookies and ice cream. Either they’re noshing while the baby’s crying, or they’re buying junk food for their older kids.

Podcast Market Size

Earlier this year, the IAB and PwC announced that the rapidly growing podcasting ad market will likely reach $402 million this year. Podcast advertising is still relatively new. But, with so many people devoting media time to the format, your clients can create podcast ads that will get them noticed. You can also talk them into a cross-​media buy.

To learn about the other types of advertising that influence Podcast Listeners, check out the AudienceSCAN profile available at AdMall from SalesFuel.