Podcast Pulse 2026

The format argument is over. Audiences ended it by not caring.

78%

of fans consume podcasts across at least two formats.

63%

have started a podcast in one format and finished it in another.

75%

of them switched app or platform to do it.

Podcasting lets fans follow the creators they love wherever the moment takes them. That's what a medium looks like when the audience, not the platform, decides how it gets consumed.

A word from our CEO

The podcast industry is obsessed with formats and platforms. Audio here, video there, social somewhere else. Audiences don't think that way. They're invested in the creators they love, and they follow them wherever they go. The morning run. The busy train. The couch at the end of the day. Those twenty minutes of peace before bed. Podcasting might show up in any of these, all of them, or just one.What's new in 2026 is how different those moments turn out to be. We went deep on four of them here. There are more. These are the four where the data was loudest, and where the distance between one moment and the next tells a brand the most.Meet a fan in one moment and you've met part of their day. Meet them across several and you've met the whole person.

Greg Glenday, CEO, Acast

Listen or watch? Increasingly, it's both

Audio vs. video — animated stacked bars

How people split their listening and watching, 2025 compared with 2026. In 2025: only audio 4%, mostly audio 41%, audio and video equally 27%, mostly video 13%, only video 15%. In 2026: only audio 5%, mostly audio 23%, audio and video equally 47%, mostly video 20%, only video 5%.

+11 points in a single year. The share consuming audio and video equally went from 27% to 39%.

The extremes of “audio-only” and “video-only” are rapidly disappearing. Today’s audiences demand a mixed-format experience.

Meet the moments, meet the whole person

If the format isn't what people are choosing, something else is. It's the moment they're in.

What their hands are doing, what their eyes are free for, and who else is in the room.

The moment screens can’t reach.

Companion

Where it happens:

The run

The drive

The kitchen

60%

say podcasts feel like a companion during their daily routines.

81%

of audio listeners have taken action after an episode. Even though there was nothing to click.

What a brand gets

Be a trusted voice in their ears. Build trust through repetition.

Podcasts go Prime Time

Settled

Where it happens:

The sofa

Winding down

The big screen

55%

co-view podcasts on a connected TV. The bigger the screen, the more people in front of it.

48%

say a video podcast ad makes them more likely to remember the brand

What a brand gets

Show, don't just tell. Reach a room, not a person.

Podcasting’s discovery engine

Scroll

Where it happens:

Lunchtime scroll

Waiting in a queue

Between things

63%

of podcast clip viewers go on to consume the full podcast at least occasionally

29%

take most notice of a brand when they meet it across both podcasts and social clips.

What a brand gets

Discovery. Everything that comes later, primed.

The moment fans buy a ticket to be in

Live

Where it happens:

The venue

The tour

The festival

34%

have been to a live podcast event, up 80% since 2024

28%

of attendees bought from a sponsoring brand

What a brand gets

Discovery. Everything that comes later, primed.

True across every podcasting moment

Why podcast advertising work for brands

When trust in media is diminishing, podcasting bucks the trend

Trust in recommendations — grouped bars

Share who trust brand and product recommendations from each source, 2025 compared with 2026. Podcasters 33% then 42%. Journalists 33% then 31%. YouTubers 31% then 29%. Social media influencers 28% then 25%. Celebrities 25% then 25%.

90% of weekly listeners have had their mind changed by a podcaster. Up four points on 2025.

Podcast creators rival word of mouth at scale

Trust to action — grouped bars

What moves consumers from trust to action, by source. Builds trust: friend or family recommendation 32%, podcast host testimonials 25%, social video clips 21%. Drives recall: 26%, 22%, 19%. Sparks research: 29%, 22%, 20%. Drives purchases: 30%, 22%, 20%.

When it comes to influence at scale, podcasting delivers across all objectives. Combining friend-like trust and the scale of digital media, podcast hosts can move consumers from trust to action.