Joint Study Between Otonal and The Asahi Shimbun Co. Estimates The Podcast Listeners In Japan To Be About 11 Million

USA - English

• USA - English

TOKYO, June 28, 2021 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The survey was conducted from December 4th to December 5th, 2020, targeting 10,000 men and women between the ages of 20 and 69.
In response to the recent increase in podcast listeners in English-speaking countries and markets, this study aims to understand the listening trends of podcast listeners in Japan.

Summary of Survey Results

• It is estimated that Japan has over 11 million podcast listeners.
• More than half of podcast listeners are in their 20s and 30s.
• 47.1% of podcast listeners in Japan started listening to podcasts within the past year; overall, the number of users skyrocketed in 2020.
• Podcast listeners are more likely to search for information about topics, products, etc. than non-listeners.
• "News" is the most-listened genre at 54.8%. Other high-ranking genres are "Music" and "Comedy."
• Two-thirds of listeners have searched for more information after hearing about something on a podcast. One-third of listeners have purchased something after hearing about it on a podcast.
• Japan has over 11 million podcast listeners by estimate

14.2% of respondents listen to podcasts at least once a month. From this, it is estimated that there are 11.2 million podcast listeners in Japan.

• More than half of podcast listeners are in their 20s and 30s

For both men and women, most listeners are in their 20s, with 16.2% for men and 12.4% for women. Listeners in their 20s and 30s make up 50.8% of all podcast listeners.

• Nearly half of listeners started listening to podcasts within the past year

Among respondents who listen to podcasts at least once a month, 10.5% started listening "less than 1 month ago," 15% began listening "1 to 6 months ago," and 21.6% started "6 months to 1 year ago." All together, this means that 47.1% of respondents started listening to podcasts within the past year, suggesting that overall podcast usage is growing rapidly.

• About 70% of users listen at least once a week, and 20% almost every day

The largest section of listeners (30.6%) responded that they listen to podcasts "once or twice a week."
Apart from that, 20.8% listen "almost every day," 19.5% listen "several times a month," 18.2% listen "3-4 times a week," and 10.9% listen "once a month." From this, it can be seen that 69.7% of podcast users listen to podcasts at least once a week.

• Podcast listeners are more likely to seek out information than non-listeners

92.1% of podcast listeners responded that they tend to actively seek out new or additional information. They are more likely to do so than non-listeners.

• Podcast listeners tend to be interested in Music, Social Issues and Business

When asked about their interests, it was found that podcast listeners were more interested than non-listeners in all topics except "Other." In particular, they were comparatively interested in "Music," "Social Issues," and "Business."

• The most-listened genres were "News," "Music," and "Comedy."

More than half of listeners "usually listen to" podcasts dealing with "News" (54.8%) or "Music" (52.4%). It is presumed that "Music" includes programs in which musicians serve as podcast hosts or personalities.

These genres are followed by "Comedy" (29.2%), "Society/Culture" (18.0%), "TV Shows/Movies" (17.6%), and "Sports" (17.5%).
More listeners responded that "Business," "Health/Fitness," "Education," and "Art" were "genres that you want to listen to in the future" than "genres that you usually listen to."
For that reason, listenership is expected to grow in these genres.

• Two-thirds of listeners have searched for more information after hearing about something on a podcast. One-third of listeners have purchased something after hearing about it on a podcast.

66.7% of respondents answered that they "often" or "occasionally" search for more information after listening to a podcast. 35.8% of respondents answered that they "often" or "occasionally" make a purchase after listening to a podcast.
From this, it can be seen that podcast listening can encourage certain searching and purchasing behaviors.

*When using the survey results and graphs from this release, please be sure to credit [Otonal / The Asahi Shimbun Company].

The full version of the report can be viewed from the following page.
PODCAST REPORT IN JAPAN: Survey of Podcast Usage in Japan(2020)
https://otonal.co.jp/en/podcast-report-in-japan2020.html

• Otonal Inc.

Otonal Inc. is an audio advertising company whose mission is to create new value in the Japanese audio advertising market. They hope to bridge oto (sound/audio) with technology to develop new ideas in advertising.

For advertisers, they create digital audio advertising solutions, and for publishers (such as radio stations), they provide digital ad monetization solutions.

• The Asahi Shimbun Company & Asahi Shimbun Podcast

First published in 1879, the Asahi Shimbun is one of the largest and longest-lasting newspapers in Japan. Today, the Asahi Shimbun Company is evolving into a comprehensive media organization with journalism at its core.

With their Asahi Shimbun Podcast, they go beyond the conventional boundaries of news, making use of some 2,000 reporters throughout 273 locations in Japan and overseas. They hope to enrich their listeners' lives by inviting them to different sites everyday.

Contact Otonal Inc. for further inquiries.
https://otonal.co.jp/contact

Media Contact

Taisuke Yagi, Otonal Inc., +81 362287895, [email protected]

SOURCE Otonal Inc.

Related Links

https://otonal.co.jp/