Quarter of UK population tuning in to podcasts weekly

A quarter of the UK population are listening to podcast episodes weekly, at around 7.7 hours each, the latest Rajar Midas Survey for Sprins 2025 has revealed.

This adds up to 111m listening hours on average per week, down from 113m listening hours average per week in the winter 2024 study.

That said, podcasts as a form of audio consumption is clearly growing. Media Pulse: Podcasts, an exclusive white paper published by Adwanted Connected, the platform operated by The Media Leader parent Adwanted UK, has identified a threefold increase in weekly podcast listening since 2016.

Pod-racing: Listening numbers and ad revenue grow for podcasts

Of the respondents surveyed who said they listened to podcasts weekly, almost two-thirds (65%) reported they listen to one to three episodes, while over a quarter (29%) said they listen to between four and 10 episodes.

Additionally, 6% said they listen to 11 episodes or more in an average week.

Within this, 86% claimed they listen to all or mostly all of each episode — and 75% said they get around to listening to more than half of all the episodes they have downloaded.

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Notably, a fifth of young adults (aged 15-24) listen to podcasts in an average week, with this group listening for slightly longer than all adults at 9.3 hours per week, highlighting the popularity of this medium among this demographic.

In terms of use cases, there is an increasing trend in listeners tuning in to podcasts to feel informed.

The report notes a 12.4 percentage point increase from 32.6% in winter 2024 to 45% in spring 2025 in respondents specifying this as the reason for listening.

Overall, the Midas Survey found that live radio dominates audio consumer choices across all UK adults, with an 87% weekly reach.

On-demand music also remained popular, with a 38% weekly reach.