In Poland, as around the world, podcast listeners are growing in number while devoting ever more attention to this medium. By 2020, nearly one in three internet users was already regularly tuning in to podcasts. Almost two-thirds of them had started listening recently, and existing users were reaching for them more often than a year earlier. Moreover, according to the latest edition of the most extensive study of Polish podcast listeners, prepared by Tandem Media of Agora's Radio Group, podcasts consistently enjoy a reputation as a credible medium, and the advertising messages tied to them enjoy a high level of audience acceptance.
The second edition of the "Podcast Listener in Poland" study was carried out by Tandem Media together with Publicis Groupe in November 2020. This time the analysis was on a decidedly larger scale – the base covered nearly 6,500 respondents. The study again showed the strong growth dynamics of listener interest in on-demand audio content and the uniqueness of the audiences themselves, and also confirmed reports from other research institutions that Poland is among the fastest-growing podcast markets in the world.
The monthly reach of podcasts in Poland over the year preceding the study rose by 4 percentage points – from 27% in 2019 to 31% in 2020. This means that nearly one in three internet users, or almost 9 million people, already uses podcast offerings! This is a result at the level seen in developed countries that have longer experience with this medium's presence.
- Podcasts, which burst onto our media landscape over the past two years, have now become a permanent part of it, and Poles have fallen in love with them – both listeners and new podcast series titles are growing by leaps and bounds. In 2020 alone, the number of shows according to the podkasty.info catalog increased sixfold. It is worth emphasizing that podcast listenership in our country has already reached the level we know from Western markets. According to Voxnest data, Poland is among the ten fastest-growing podcast markets in the world – says Michał Dobrzański, head of the research department at Tandem Media.
As many as 65% of all listeners are people who began their podcast adventure within the past year. Recent events favored interest in podcasts – 27% of respondents indicated that during the pandemic they spend more time listening. At the same time, pandemic circumstances meant that podcasts were most often listened to at home (81%), and smartphone use declined somewhat in favor of the laptop (47% smartphone vs 26% laptop).
Whom and what are podcasts for?
Why do we listen to podcasts? Motivations and benefits
Why do we listen to podcasts? Motivations and benefits
Many factors determine the popularity of podcasts. Among the most important are certainly Poles' constant access to the internet and widespread "smartphonization." Also significant is – partly linked to the pandemic – screen fatigue, leading to a search for attractive audio content that at the same time saves and makes good use of free time. Nearly half of podcast listeners turn them on for entertainment, to rest and relax, while more than a third want to learn more about the world through them.
- Many people look in on-demand internet shows for expert knowledge or an additional activity while performing other tasks. Favorite podcast topics in 2020 as declared by study participants were: history and society, psychology, lifestyle, crime, news and politics, music, and health – explains Radosław Sączek, head of commercial audio content production at Tandem Media.
The new Tandem Media study again indicated that podcast listeners are a very attractive consumer group for advertisers. Half of listeners have higher education, and as many as 57% are users over the age of 35 (an increase of 9 percentage points compared with 2019). Importantly, when it comes to credibility, podcast audiences rank this medium highest, although news portals and radio also placed highly. Most respondents also reported contact with advertising related to podcasts – as many as 69% accept it in the form of a sponsored series or episode, and 68% accept a specific brand recommendation delivered by the show's creator.
More information about podcast listeners in Poland, their characteristics, choices, and acceptance of advertising content – in further updates on the study coming soon. The study designed by the broker Tandem Media was carried out by Publicis Groupe in November 2020. Respondents were internet users over the age of 15 (report "Podcast Listener in Poland," N=6365; CAWI, Tandem Media/Publicis Groupe).
Summary
The Tandem Media and Publicis Groupe study shows that in 2020, one in three Polish internet users, or almost 9 million people, was already using podcasts. Monthly reach rose from 27% to 31%, placing Poland among the ten fastest-growing podcast markets in the world. As many as 65% of listeners began their adventure with this medium in the past year, and the pandemic meant that 81% of listens take place at home, with users more often reaching for a laptop.
Podcasts are seen as a credible medium, and their audiences are an attractive group for advertisers — 69% accept sponsored episodes, and 68% accept brand recommendations from creators. The most popular topics are history, psychology, and crime.
