Kiwis love the humble podcast, survey finds
It's official – New Zealanders love listening to podcasts – and those under 45 years of age seem to love them the most.
That's according to a survey from Radio New Zealand (RNZ) and Acast, which polled 1006 New Zealand listeners.
Yes, we know the survey is a little self-serving on RNZ's part, but RNZ is the most prolific podcast publisher in the country.
RNZproduces 44 podcasts with shows including The Detail (daily news), Eating Fried Chicken in the Shower (comedy mental health) and Nanogirl's Great Science Adventures (kids science), as well as adapting its most popular radio programmes.
The survey found that one in three listeners (31%) listen to podcast content at least once a week, with society and literature themed podcasts ranking the most popular in New Zealand.
What's more, almost half (48%) of all podcast listeners are aged under 45 years old. There's also a reasonably even split between male listeners (55%) and female listeners (45%).
Breaking that down even further, 10% of listeners are between 18-24, 18% are between 25-34, 20% are between 35-44, and 21% are between 45-54, 15% are between 55-64, 12% are between 65-74, and 4% are over 75.
RNZ executive producer of podcasts and series, Tim Watkin, says it's great to see that podcasts are becoming popular.
''Once you start and get drawn into the stories and the ability to listen to whatever you want, whenever you want, it's addictive.''
The most popular topics include society and literature, news and politics, comedy, 'other', and sports - recreation.
The survey also found that 25% of respondents listen at home after work/uni/school, and 22% listen to podcasts on long drives or road trips.
Most people only listen to one podcast in a single session, and half will listen to 'almost' the entire podcast once they start one.
Additionally, most podcast listeners regularly use platforms like Apple or iHeartRadio. However, 25% don't use podcast platforms or apps at all.
With the help of podcast company Acast, RNZ will continue to develop podcasts and advertising.
Acast says it will deliver a strong technical infrastructure for the network's podcasters to manage, grow and distribute content across all platforms.
So watch out for podcasts with targeted advertising, because Acast reckons there's plenty of potential for advertisers, too.
''Our partnership will help fuel further growth of RNZ''s podcasts while allowing advertisers to deliver targeted messages in an engaging, audio-on-demand format," says Acast managing director Henrik Isaksson.
