In the early days of podcasting, podcast creators and publishers began to monetize their content by simply recording their ad reads directly into the audio file for the specific podcast episode at hand. These spots became known across the podcast industry as “baked-in” or “burned-in” ads.

By contrast, consumption of music, podcasts, and other digital audio content was rather subdued, except in younger age groups. Nearly 90% of respondents ages 16 to 24 had listened to digital audio in the month prior to polling, but that share dropped by at least 10 percentage points with each decade of rising age, reaching just 40.6% in the oldest age bracket.

Consumption of music, podcasts, and other digital audio was relatively flat YoY. Some 58.4% of internet users had streamed digital audio content in the month prior to polling. Age was a key differentiator here; penetration in the youngest cohort reached 91.8% in H1, but that fell markedly with rising age, to just 30.8% in the oldest group.

In 2021, more than three-quarters of the time that US adults spent listening to ad-supported audio went to AM/FM radio. Podcasts trailed way behind traditional radio, capturing just 11% of ad-supported listening, while Pandora, SiriusXM, and Spotify each accounted for less than 10%. AM/FM radio held a majority share across adult age groups and was the most listened-to ad-supported audio not only in the car (88%), but also in the home (72%) and workplace (68%).

Consumption of podcasts, which GWI measured for the first time in H1 2020, accounted for 1:12 each day in H1 2021.

Streaming Media Dominates Consumption. Gen Zers are heavy consumers of all types of internet-based streaming media, including video, audio, gaming, and other multimedia. YouTube and TikTok are top video streaming apps among Gen Zers of all ages. YouTube remains the dominant platform when it comes to its sheer weekly reach, at 84% among Gen Z adults who use iPhones (Measure Protocol).

Consumption of broadcast radio and print was also very high among 35- to 44-year-olds. Somewhat surprisingly, the share of internet users who had accessed music, podcasts, or other audio content online shrank slightly between H1 2020 and H1 2021, to 80.0%. Penetration declined in all demographics, though the change was very slight in some cases.

Notwithstanding the leap in video consumption, broadcast TV still claimed more daily time. While free and paid-for video viewing occupied an average 1 hour, 44 minutes (1:44) per day in H1 2021, live TV accounted for 2:35. Digital audio may have suffered from the increased attention paid to digital video.

Digital video consumption continues to outstrip TV viewing, however, with 94.7% of China’s internet users accessing video-on-demand (VOD) services in the previous month. Respondents devoted an estimated 1 hour, 34 minutes (1:34) per day to online TV and video. And as in H1 2020, nearly 92% of respondents listened to digital audio, such as music or podcasts, and devoted 1:27 daily to music streaming.

Between H1 2020 and H1 2021, the share of internet users who streamed music, listened to podcasts, or consumed other online audio content declined slightly, from 78.9% to 75.1%. Time spent with digital audio and video both posted annual increases. For example, in H1 2021, internet users polled in Argentina spent an average of 1:14 daily with online TV and 1:45 with music streaming.

Yet the main cause is more likely the general surge in digital video consumption worldwide, which was already underway in 2019 and further accelerated by the pandemic. In keeping with that trend, smart TV penetration in Singapore climbed from 44.8% to 48.4% between 2020 and 2021. Digital audio apparently reached a smaller audience in 2021.

Paid-for video posted a quantum leap, too, though subscription video-on-demand (SVOD) consumption lagged video viewing overall. More than 55% of respondents had watched TV shows, films, or other video content from services like Netflix in the month prior, compared with 45.4% in H1 2019. By contrast, digital audio appeared less popular in 2021, as penetration dropped to 53.2%.

This year, 20.5% of all internet users polled owned such a product—perhaps a smart appliance, an energy consumption monitor, or a remotely-controlled security system. As in 2020, affluents and suburbanites were most likely to have a smart home device, posting penetration rates of 26.9% and 23.8%, respectively.

Yet nearly 71% of respondents had recently streamed music or accessed podcasts or other audio content from digital sources. And time spent with broadcast radio—an average of 46 minutes daily—was about half the 1:24 devoted to music streaming alone.

The digital audio market is evolving, but radio hasn’t gone away. The reach of broadcast radio shrank in many markets this year, but time spent with radio had hardly changed since 2020 or shifted by just a few minutes per day. Fewer internet users listened to online radio, audiobooks, and other digital audio content, as well.

Younger people were more responsive to digital audio, too. But unlike digital video, uptake of music, podcasts, and other digital audio content showed no increase year over year. Time spent streaming music averaged 1:33 per day, while video streaming occupied an average of 1:22. Both times rose by about half an hour from H1 2020. Mobile time and activities were on the rise as PC penetration slid.

Digital music and audio appealed more to younger web users in H1 2021. While 85.2% of respondents ages 16 to 24 had listened to music, podcasts, and other digital audio content in the prior month, that share fell with every additional decade of age, declining to 40.1% among respondents ages 55 to 64. Video streaming now reaches a larger audience than live broadcast TV.